[Gallery Walk] Jeju Wind Embraced Ochre Hue, Intense as if Tearing the Canvas

Byun Si-ji Solo Exhibition 'Light and Wind of the Era' at Gana Art until the 15th... Over 40 Works Created After Age 50 on Display

Byun Si-ji, 'Stormy Sea', 1989, Oil on canvas, 91x117 cm (Size 50) [Photo by Gana Art]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The canvas is filled with the color of yellow earth. It is so intense that it evokes the image of blazing flames. It also brings to mind Vincent van Gogh's (1853?1890) paintings of yellow wheat fields. However, the yellow hue painted by the late artist Byeon Siji (1926?2013) differs from van Gogh's yellow. It captures the yellow earth of his hometown, Jeju. Jeju is a place with strong winds. Byeon’s yellow earth color contains the fierce wind. It seems as if the canvas might tear apart at any moment.

Byeon was born in 1926 in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. In 1931, his family moved to Osaka, Japan, where he attended school. He graduated from the Western Painting Department of Osaka Art School in 1945. The following year, he became a disciple of Manjiro Terauchi, a professor at Tokyo University, where he learned the expressionist techniques of Post-Impressionism.

In 1947, he became the first Korean to be selected at the Japan Art Exhibition (Nitten), hosted by the Japanese Ministry of Education, with a work titled "Woman." The next year, he received the highest award at the Kofukai Exhibition as the youngest winner ever. Founded in 1912, Kofukai was the leading central art circle in Japan at the time, embracing Western Impressionism. When asked who his favorite and most respected artist was in his youth, Byeon named the Post-Impressionist master van Gogh.

Byeon’s artistic career is divided into three periods: his time in Japan (1931?1957), Seoul (1957?1975), and Jeju (1975?2013). The Byeon Siji solo exhibition "Light and Wind of the Era," jointly planned by Gana Art and the public interest foundation Art Siji, is being held at Gana Art in Pyeongchang-dong, Jongno-gu, until the 15th. About 40 works painted during the 38 years after Byeon returned to Jeju at age 50 are on display.

Storm by Byun Si-ji, 1989, Oil on canvas, 160x130 cm (Size 100) [Photo by Gana Art]

Memories of the Seaside by Byeon Siji, 1995, Oil on canvas, 45x130 cm (Modified size 50) [Photo by Gana Art]

Byeon returned to Korea in 1957 after being offered a lecturer position at Seoul National University. In 1975, he moved alone to Jeju, separated from his family. On the plane to Jeju, he felt that the sea and land dyed by the setting sun were entirely yellow. "Jeju’s sunlight is intense, causing all native colors to change. I felt in my heart how the white sand turns yellow under the strong light," Byeon said.

"The sky is black and the earth is yellow (天地玄黃)." Song Jeonghee, CEO of Space Nouveau and the exhibition planner, explained that Byeon considered the yellow earth color as the color of life.

The trees in Byeon’s paintings, filled with fierce wind, may bend but never break. There is a strong will to resist the wind.

"For the artist, the wind is not just a natural or physical phenomenon but a wind of the mind. Jeju, with its strong winds, is an environment that is harsh itself but also a place subjected to many external threats and pressures. The wind is a motif used to sublimely express the struggles of people trying to survive there. The artist said, 'Windy Jeju makes me think a lot. Loneliness, endurance, anxiety... I tried to express these things,'" said Song.

An anecdote shared by Byeon’s eldest son, Byeon Jeonghun, CEO of the Art Siji Foundation, reveals the artist’s life attitude. "When my father was in elementary school, he used to bring a lunchbox, but his friends said it smelled of kimchi and garlic, so he stopped bringing it. Instead, he would run home at lunchtime to eat and then run back to school. After running like this for one or two years, he became very strong, winning first place in running and even defeating older students in wrestling competitions," he said.

However, a wrestling competition in the second grade left a lifelong scar on young Byeon Siji. After wrestling with an older student, he twisted his leg and was unable to run or play. After that, he devoted himself to painting.

Song said, "Byeon Siji has not received proper recognition until now, but I thought it was time to shed new light on him, so we prepared this exhibition. It is a rare opportunity to see the major works from Byeon’s Jeju period all at once."

Typhoon by Byun Si-ji, 1982, Oil on canvas, 182x228 cm (Size 150) [Photo by Gana Art]

Byeon Siji 'News', 1986, Oil on canvas, 112x145 cm (No. 80) [Photo by Gana Art]

Byeon Siji 'Haechon', 2002, Oil on canvas, 41x53 cm (Size 10) [Photo by Gana Art]

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