Seoul Arts Center, through May 30
Special exhibition of 18 woodblock printmakers
The Seoul Arts Center (President Yoo In-taek) and the Korea Institute of Woodblock Culture are holding the exhibition <The Mysterious World of Blockbuster Prints> Wood Becomes a Painting: LAND·HUMAN·LIFE at the Seoul Arts Center's Calligraphy Museum through May 30.
This exhibition presents works by 18 leading contemporary woodblock printmakers. The 18 artists express the aesthetic sensibility seen in Korea's traditional painting through a contemporary style, and go so far as to put forward the major trends of woodblock printmaking as a subject of discussion. In particular, a considerable number of blockbuster-scale large woodblock prints offer visitors both surprise and delight.
Curated by exhibition director Kim Jin-ha, an art critic and woodblock researcher (head of Namu Art), the show unfolds the major currents of Korean woodblock printmaking in the 2000s through communication with the public.
The greatest distinguishing feature of this exhibition is the chance to encounter some 100 large woodblock prints that directly reveal the world of blockbuster printmaking. Visitors can see, all in one place, large woodblock prints that have been difficult to encounter, such as Kim Jun-kwon's <Mountain Rhyme山韻-0901>, which drew attention when it was placed in the Peace House where the two leaders signed the guest book at the April 2018 inter-Korean summit, and Kim Eok's <Namdo Scenery南道風色>, a 9.6-meter-wide work capturing the journey from Haenam to Bogildo.
The title of this exhibition, <Wood Becomes a Painting>, is a metaphorical expression for woodblock printmaking. As the title suggests, these are woodblock prints, yet works with delicate technique and mysterious color that seem to rival painting also draw the eye. Among them are Kim Jun-kwon's <This Mountain, That Mountain> and <Song of the Mountain>, which look like watercolor paintings, and Bae Nam-kyung's <City Walk> and <People Praying>, whose realistic depiction is captivating.
In addition, many contemporary woodblock prints with their own distinctive character await visitors, including Kang Haeng-bok's <Avatamsaka華嚴>, which expresses rhythmic linear form and monochrome prints as if in a collage, and Yoo Geun-taek's series <There Is a River Between Us>, which deals with everyday experience.
So that office workers and many others can make good use of their evenings, the Seoul Arts Center is extending its viewing hours—previously 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays—by one hour until 8 p.m. every Wednesday and Friday under a 'Museum Night' program.
▲ Kim Jun-kwon, Green Bamboo靑竹-1302