[Gallery Walk] 'Cheon Kyungja·Lee Ungno...' A Comprehensive Collection of Korean Modern and Contemporary Portraits

Gallery Hyundai 50th Anniversary Exhibition 'Korean Modern and Contemporary Portraits - Figures, Portraits, and People'
Featuring 71 Works Including Korea's First Nude Painting, Kim Kwan-ho's 'Sunset' and Chun Kyung-ja's 'Tango Flowing at Dusk'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] "The painting by Mr. Kim displayed at the exhibition is a nude painting of a woman from Tokyo, so it cannot be published as a photograph."

This is a note added in parentheses at the very end of a Maeil Shinbo article dated October 20, 1916. The article reported that Kim Gwan-ho, a Joseon painter born in Pyongyang, won a special prize for his work "Sunset" at the 10th Ministry of Education Art Exhibition held in Japan. Over 100 years ago, this nude painting, which could not be published in newspapers due to its subject, can now be seen at Gallery Hyundai in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Gallery Hyundai is holding a special exhibition titled "Korean Modern and Contemporary Portraits ? Figures, Portraits, and People" until March 1, organized ambitiously to celebrate its 50th anniversary. It displays 71 portraits by 54 artists in both the old Gallery Hyundai building and the new Gallery Hyundai building.

Upon entering the exhibition room of the old Gallery Hyundai, the first artwork to catch the eye is the 127.5×127.5 cm painting "Sunset." It alone fills the left wall. It depicts the backs of two nude women washing by the riverside in Neungnado, Pyongyang. The moderately plump figures convey a warm beauty.

Kim Kwan-ho 'Sunset', 1916, Oil on canvas, 127.5x127.5 cm
Photo by Gallery Hyundai

Art historian Mok Soo-hyun, who advised on this exhibition, said, "This is probably the first nude painting painted by a Korean. While there may have been nude studies before, I think this is the first completed work."

Kim Gwan-ho was the second Joseon painter to study at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts), following Korea's first Western-style painter Go Hui-dong. "Sunset" is currently held by the Tokyo University of the Arts Museum and was specially loaned for this exhibition by Gallery Hyundai.

Korean modern art was inevitably introduced and started indirectly through Japan. Especially, the Tokyo School of Fine Arts produced many Joseon Western-style painters. Before liberation in 1945, 43 Joseon painters graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. At that time, students had to submit self-portraits as graduation works. Five of those self-portraits by these 43 painters are on display in this exhibition. They are self-portraits by Go Hui-dong, Kim Gwan-ho, Lee Jong-woo, Kim Yong-jun, and Oh Ji-ho, exhibited to the right of "Sunset."

'Korean Modern and Contemporary Portraits - Figures, Portraits, and People' Exhibition View [Photo by Gallery Hyundai]

Gallery Hyundai used "Sunset" as the back cover image of the exhibition catalog. The front cover is adorned with Cheon Kyung-ja's 1978 work "Twilight with Tango Flowing," which can be seen on the first floor of the new Gallery Hyundai building.

Painter Cheon Kyung-ja often painted snakes. His 1952 work "Ecology," depicting 35 intertwined snakes, shocked the art world when it was revealed. In 1977, "22 Pages of My Sad Legend" shows four snakes resting on a woman's head. In "Twilight with Tango Flowing," the snakes disappear, but the shape of the woman's rolled-up hair and the smoke from her cigarette seem to symbolize snakes. "Twilight with Tango Flowing" was also the title of an essay collection published by Cheon in 1995.

Lee Ung-no's 1946 painting "Street Scene ? Western Woman" also draws attention. It features women in short skirts interacting with American soldiers at the time. The painter wrote at the bottom right of the painting, "When I look, tears blur my vision. I hope for quick reflection, to shed old clothes and return to work, to become the wise mother of our nation."

Cheon Kyung-ja, Tango-ga Heureuneun Hwanghon (Tango Flowing Twilight), 1978, color on paper, 46.5x42.5 cm [Photo by Gallery Hyundai]

Eungno Lee, "Street Scene - Two Women," 1946, Ink and light color on Korean paper, 50x60 cm
Photo by Gallery Hyundai

Gallery Hyundai aimed to comprehensively show the flow from Korean modern art to contemporary art through the exhibition "Korean Modern and Contemporary Portraits ? Figures, Portraits, and People," also embodying the spirit of the times spanning over 100 years from the 1910s. Therefore, they selected works emphasizing "contemporaneity," reflecting the lives of the painters during their times.

There are many uniquely expressive works. Lee In-sung's 1934 work "One Autumn Day" and Lee Kwae-dae's 1948 work "Group III" are examples. Lee In-sung was a star artist of the Joseon Art Exhibition. "One Autumn Day" won a special prize at the 15th Joseon Art Exhibition and is displayed on the wall opposite "Sunset."

Lee Kwae-dae fought as a member of the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War, was captured, and witnessed the armistice as a prisoner of war. However, during the prisoner exchange between North and South Korea, he voluntarily chose to go to North Korea. In 1988, when works by North Korean painters were unbanned, Lee Kwae-dae's works also came to light.

Among the paintings of women, many attract attention. Kwon Ok-yeon's 1951 work "In the Ruins" depicts a woman holding a sunflower, exposing one breast, resting her chin. The somewhat provocative woman in the painting was Kwon Ok-yeon's wife, who was newlywed at the time. Kim In-seung's "Makeup After Bath" shows a woman in underwear applying makeup after bathing. This work was fiercely contested at a Seoul Auction.

Lee In-sung 'A Day in Autumn', 1934, Oil on canvas, 96x161.6 cm [Photo by Gallery Hyundai]

Lee Kwae-dae 'Group Portrait 3', 1948, oil on canvas, 151x128 cm
Photo by Gallery Hyundai

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.