Viridescent
Fantasy_Lee Sookja
is the exhibition of Korean Contemporary Artists Series, a medium to long term
project of National Museum of Modern and
Contemporary Art to contribute in formation and development of history of
Korean contemporary art. It is a large-scaled retrospective exhibition
illuminating a half a century works of the Korean painter, Jihyang Lee Sookja (1942~).
Lee was born in Seoul in
1942. She studied in Hongik University under some of the great teachers of
Korean color painting during the modern era such as Chun Kyungja (1924-2015),
Kim Gichang (1913-2001) and Park Saenggwang (1904-1985). After making her debut
through the National Art Exhibition in 1963, she has further established
herself as an artist by winning grand prizes in the National Art Exhibition and
Joongang Fine Arts Prizes in 1980.
During the late 20th
century, when the term 'Korean painting' was first introduced, Lee took it as
an artist's duty to establish the concept and characteristics of the new term.
'Establishment of an identity of Korean painting' and 'securing of legitimacy
of color painting' in the history of Korean art were the key words in the
artistic works of Lee throughout a half a century. As a result of studies and
developments in the history of art, the legitimacy of color painting now stands
firmly on a stable ground. The identity of 'Korean painting,' on the other
hand, is difficult to be defined since it is something that constantly changes
over time. However, the vestiges of the contemporary artists' exploration of
the identity will form a single identity in the future, and Lee also has
dedicated herself for a half a century in formation of the identity of Korean
painting through her works.
Lee's works can roughly be
categorized into those that show Korean subject matters such as 'Folk Art,'
'Barley Field,' 'Cow,' 'Hangeul' and 'Baekdusan Mountain' and the 'Eve' series.
In this exhibition, such characteristics of the subject matters were
highlighted and were reflected in the organization of the exhibition. However,
the impact of superficial subject matter itself on the expression of Korean
identity is not quite significant. It is the objective of this exhibition for
the audience to discover the true meaning of Korean identity as an 'internal
symbol,' which is what Lee has been seeking for, and empathize with the artist.
