Senior Painter An Young-il Passes Away in LA at Age 86

Veteran painter Ahn Young-il [Photo by Gallery Hyundai]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Veteran painter Ahn Young-il passed away on the 12th (local time) in Los Angeles (LA), USA. He was 86 years old.

He was born in 1934 in Kaesong as the son of Western-style painter Ahn Seung-gak (1908?1995). He spent his childhood in Tokyo following his parents and returned to Korea at the age of 10 in 1945. Naturally drawing while exposed to various art books in his father's studio, he was called a "child prodigy painter" due to his innate talent. In 1949, as a middle school student, he was selected for the first National Art Exhibition (Gukjeon). In 1953, as a high school student, he won a special prize at the second National Art Exhibition but was demoted to selection status because of his young age.

In 1957, while studying in the painting department at Seoul National University, he was selected in a contest held by the U.S. Embassy in Korea and participated in a group exhibition at the World House Gallery in New York. After graduating in 1958, he taught at Seoul Arts High School and Seoul National University High School but was recognized for his skills as a full-time artist. He held solo exhibitions consecutively at overseas galleries such as Hull House Gallery in Chicago in 1959 and USIS Gallery in Helsinki, Finland in 1962.

In 1966, dreaming of a bigger stage, he moved to New York. A few months later, he relocated to LA, where he settled and spent the rest of his life. He gained attention locally as a promising artist by presenting lyrical semi-abstract works that captured the California coastal landscapes and their unique atmosphere. In 1967, he signed an exclusive contract with Zachary Waller Gallery, but due to a lawsuit between collectors and the gallery in 1970, he was unable to work properly for about ten years. Experiencing divorce, financial difficulties, and depression, he made a comeback in the 1980s by releasing the "Water" series. Since then, he was known as the "Painter of Water."

Ahn Young-il 'Water ALSV 16', 2016, oil on canvas, 183x152 cm
Photo by Gallery Hyundai

Through the "Water" series, which began in 1983, he explored countless ways in which light, water, and mist interact with the sea. The series originated from an experience of getting lost while riding a small fishing boat on the sea. Surrounded by thick fog so dense that he could not see his own hands, the fog suddenly cleared, and sunlight poured down, making the water surface shimmer with various colors. He concretized this unforgettable impression into visual language. From a distance, the "Water" series appears as a monotonous surface covered with a single color, but up close, small square dots of color form a mosaic pattern that sparkles and emits vibrant energy. The artist used a palette knife to apply paint to the canvas, embodying the flickering movement of light reflected on the waves. During his lifetime, he said the sea was a part of himself. "The sea was alive as a vast living being, and the waves swayed with a mysterious rhythm of light every moment, never repeating the same color or gesture. I became infinitely humble and deeply engraved the mysterious scenes of the sea, newly born moment by moment, in my heart. Since that day, the sea lives inside me, and I have become a part of the sea."

He suffered a stroke in 2014. Although physically impaired, he never put down his brush. In 2017, efforts to reexamine his painting world were active in both Korea and the United States. From February to October, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the largest museum in the western United States, held his solo exhibition "Unexpected Light: Works by Young Il Ahn," the first for a Korean-American artist, showcasing about ten large "Water" series works. In March, he held a solo exhibition at Hyundai Gallery and visited Korea. In November of the same year, the Long Beach Museum of Art in the U.S. held a retrospective "Young-Il Ahn: When Sky Meets Water," following a 2015 exhibition. In 2018, his last solo exhibition during his lifetime was held at Kavi Gupta Gallery in Chicago.

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