Special Exhibition for the 50th Anniversary of Korean Abstract Iron Sculpture Pioneer Song Young-su... Featuring 'Martyr' and More

From July 21 to August 9, 'Space of Reflections: Sculptor's Sketchbook' Exhibition... A Retrospective with Special Meaning at Seongbuk-dong Seongbuk Art Museum, Where the Artist Spent His Final Years

Song Young-su, writer

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] A solo exhibition of Song Young Su, a pioneer of abstract iron sculpture in Korea, will be held in Seongbuk-dong, where the artist spent the last years of his life.

Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) and Seongbuk Art Museum (Director Kim Bora) will hold the exhibition "Space of Reflection: Sculptor's Sketchbook" at Seongbuk Art Museum from the 21st to August 9th.

Since the mid-1950s, Song Young Su was a sculptor who pioneered the field of Korean abstract iron sculpture by presenting original welded iron sculptures amid the postwar chaos. He built his own house and atelier in Seongbuk-dong in 1965 and lived there until his death in 1970.

The exhibition "Space of Reflection: Sculptor's Sketchbook" commemorates the 50th anniversary of the death of sculptor Song Young Su this year and holds special significance as a retrospective exhibition in Seongbuk-dong, where he spent the last years of his life.

The exhibition welcomes visitors with a total of over 150 works, including 17 representative sculptures by Song Young Su and drawings and sketches from more than 100 sketchbooks he left during his lifetime.

Song Young Su explored the possibilities of various materials and expressions, not only welding sculptures using iron, copper, and stainless steel but also wood, stone, plaster, ceramics, and terracotta, pioneering his own unique artistic world.

This exhibition focuses on Song Young Su’s representative works and related drawings created since the late 1950s, offering a fresh perspective on the artist’s world. Works such as "Filial Piety" (1957), which he submitted as a recommended artist to the National Art Exhibition in 1957, as well as "Opposition" (1967), "Bird" (1969), and "Martyr" (1969), demonstrate the originality and completeness of Song Young Su’s welded sculptures.

Also featured are works exploring the characteristics of new materials, such as the terracotta piece "Bird" (1969), the wooden sculpture "Mang (望)" (1960), the stainless steel welded "Work 62-1" (1962), and "Totem" (1970).

Among these, "Totem" (1970) is Song Young Su’s last welded sculpture, created in the year of his death.

Additionally, works such as "Work 59-1" (1959) and "Work 65-1" (1965), which depict the shapes of the sun, stars, and moon, reveal the artist’s will to represent a transcendental world.

Alongside these, drawings vividly capturing the artist’s numerous reflections in completing a single work will be unveiled. Just as Song Young Su explored various sculptural materials, the drawings, created with pencil, pen, watercolor, and ink, are not mere preliminary sketches for sculptures but hold value as completed paintings in their own right. Above all, the drawings in the sketchbooks, which document the process leading to the creation of the works, serve as important clues and research materials for understanding Song Young Su’s art.

Song Young Su is a first-generation Korean modern sculptor formed through domestic art universities after liberation and the war. From the late 1950s, when welded sculpture was still unfamiliar in the Korean art scene, he consistently presented abstract welded sculptures until his death in 1970, expanding the horizon of Korean modern sculpture history.

"Space of Reflection: Sculptor's Sketchbook" offers an opportunity to directly experience the artistic journey of Song Young Su, who, despite a brief life like a flame, constantly explored the origins of existence and art.

Filial Piety, Iron

Moreover, Seongbuk-dong has been home to many cultural and artistic figures representing modern and contemporary Korea, such as Jo Ji-hoon, Baek Seok, Lee Tae-jun, Park Tae-won, Yeom Sang-seop, Kim Kwang-seop, Jo Jung-rae, Han Yong-un, Jang Seung-eop, Kim Yong-jun, Kim Whanki, Kim Ki-chang, Park Rae-hyun, Byun Jong-ha, Seo Se-ok, Yoon Isang, and Chae Dong-seon, earning it the nickname "the treasure trove of modern and contemporary Korea." Since its opening in 2009, Seongbuk Art Museum has been holding rotating planned and special exhibitions centered on works by artists from the Seongbuk area.

For more information about the "Space of Reflection: Sculptor's Sketchbook" exhibition, please contact 6925-5011 or visit the Seongbuk Art Museum website (http://sma.sbculture.or.kr).

■ Artist Biography

Song Young Su (1930?1970)

Born in Seoul in 1930. Graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Sculpture and its graduate school, and served as a professor at his alma mater. From 1953, he consecutively won special prizes at the National Art Exhibition and participated as a recommended artist from the 6th exhibition onward. In 1967, he exhibited "Martyr" at the S?o Paulo Biennale.

From the early 1960s, he designed and created various commemorative sculptures such as the "National Flagpole" (1961) at the Korea Military Academy and the "Lee Jun Martyrs Monument" (1961) in Jangchung Park, advocating the artistic value of abstract sculpture.

Retrospectives were held at Moran Museum of Art (2003) and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (2010). His works are held in collections at Samsung Museum of Art, Korea University Museum, and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

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