[Gallery Walk] Landscape Paintings Drawn with Textiles... The Pioneering Journey of First-Generation Textile Artist Lee Sinja

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Gwacheon Retrospective 'Drawing with Thread'
On View Until February 18 Next Year, Over 90 Works Exhibited
First Introduction of 1970s Tapestry in Korea
"If I Had Majored, I Wouldn't Have Tried Something New"

"Since I did not major in embroidery or study textile art, it was difficult because I did things my own way, but if I had been a major, I probably wouldn't have done it like this. I think this free work, which I challenged without majoring, became an opportunity for the development of textile art."

Exhibition view of Lee Sin-ja's large-scale retrospective 'Drawing with Thread' at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon. [Photo by National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art]

This year, 93-year-old textile artist Lee Sinja is an artist who wants to remain active rather than become a master. Even now, at this moment, he says, "I want to create works," and his large-scale retrospective exhibition "Drawing with Thread" is being held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, until February 18, 2024.

In the 1970s, when the word "textile art" did not even exist in Korea, this exhibition sheds light on the life and overall work world of the artist who introduced tapestry to Korea, established the field of Korean textile art, and nurtured numerous disciples. The exhibition presents about 90 of the artist's works and about 30 archives to the public.

After studying applied arts at university, the artist began textile work using needles and threads easily accessible in daily life. He recalls, "I didn't learn it; I just threaded the needle as if I were drawing a picture" (from "Research on Korean Modern Craftsmen - Lee Sinja").

Lee Sin-ja's 1961 work 'Neurosis'.
[Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art]

In his early works, instead of traditional textile materials, he mainly used everyday materials such as millboard, wallpaper, mosquito nets, and paper, which contained Korean sentiments. The "Wall Hanging" exhibited at the National Art Exhibition in 1972 was the first tapestry work introduced in Korea, overcoming the monotony of traditional tapestry and attracting attention with its unique texture and three-dimensional expression.

The exhibition divides the process of the formation of the artist's work world chronologically to observe the changes.

In the early works of the 1950s and 1960s, under the theme of "new expressions and materials," the exhibition introduces works that contain the artist's bold and free attempts. During a time when dyeing and embroidery were independently distinguished, the artist dyed using a paraffin-based resist dyeing technique and embroidered with thread, combining dyeing and embroidery on one canvas. He also experimented with techniques such as stamping the background with dye on wire mesh and then attaching fabric or embroidering on it. The artist, who was criticized for free techniques different from established artists, such as applying crayon or pigment and overlaying fabric appliqu?, seemed to be conscious of such public opinion and titled a 1961 work "Neurosis," reflecting his emotions at the time.

Lee Sin-ja's 1985 work 'Gigu I'
[Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art]

From 1970 to 1983, under the theme "The Emergence of Tapestry," the exhibition covers works from the period when tapestry was first introduced in Korea through the 1972 Korea Art Exhibition. The artist, who learned the weaving process on his grandmother's loom during childhood, completed the first tapestry work by tying threads to a frame and weaving. Subsequently, through bas-relief expressions that protrude woven threads outward, such as "Forest" (1972) and "Harmony" (1981), he realized three-dimensional textures.

The period from 1984 to 1993 is called "The Blooming Period of Korean Textile Art," when Lee Sinja's work reached its peak. He expressed the light of sunrise and sunset reflected on the sea in front of his hometown Uljin, as well as the shapes of mountains and trees, through tapestry, completing works like paintings. After the early 1980s, following the death of his husband, painter Jang Unseong, he expressed loss and despair through contrasts of red and black. Devoted to tapestry work resembling paintings, he completed various works containing reverence for life and the will for resurrection.

Since the 1990s, the artist has used metal frames as a window to present landscapes observing nature. In the exhibition space themed "Soft Textile - Hard Metal," visitors can encounter the "Spirit of the Mountain" series (1990s). These works contain the eternal vitality of nature, which the artist says dominated him throughout his life, including the sound of waves, light, memories, love, and farewell, infused with the spirit of the mountains he climbed holding his father's hand during childhood.

On the 21st, artist Lee Sin-ja introduced her work at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]

This exhibition enhances accessibility to the artist's work world by introducing archives such as drawings and sketches, interview videos, and various activity photos along with the works.

The artist said, "I hope textile art develops as an independent field without falling behind painting," and added, "I hope young artists will present many good works so that it can develop further in the future."

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