Modern Korean Painting

Ewha Womans University Museum 2014 Special Exhibition

Modern Korean Painting : From the Great Han Empire to the 1950s

As the special exhibition for autumn 2014, Ewha Womans University Museum is hosting the event Modern Korean Painting: From the Great Han Empire to the 1950s. The focus of this exhibition is to highlight diverse aspects of modern painting in Korea, from the introduction and visualization of modernistic ideography and symbolism during era of the Great Han Empire to the diffusion and development of new art forms within the context of traditional art.
Celebrating its 79th anniversary, Ewha Womans University Museum is itself an established part in the history of modern art in Korea. A number of the featured artists have previously held teaching positions at Ewha, while Dr. Helen Kim, a former director of the museum, was central to the founding of the artist group Geumranmukhoe, which included key figures in modern art circles. This exhibition will display around 100 pieces of modern art paintings from the collection assembled by this museum, with the contents published into a guidebook. The exhibition will be presented in five sections; Early Modern Art: The Great Han Empire, Beginnings of Modern Art Education: Seohwa Misulhoe(Fine Art Association of Calligraphy and Paintings) and Seohwa Association (Association of Calligraphy and Paintings), Developments in Modern Art Circles in Asia: The Search for Originality, Modern Enjoyment of Literati Culture: Geumranmukhoe, Establishment of Western Art Circles.
Of particular note in this exhibition is the inclusion of around 30 pieces of modern paintings, which had hitherto remained closed to the public. The exhibition is also given further significance due to the open display of two large-scale works of historical depiction painted during the the Korean Empire era, Myeongseonghwanghu Barinbanchado(The Funeral Procession of Empress Myeongseong) and Daehanjeguk Donggado(The King’s Excursion on a Royal Carriage). In addition, the inscriptions and seals on every piece will be collated and arranged for use as research material in a variety of related fields.
A number of kind and generous people lent their help towards the opening of this exhibition. Our sincerest gratitude is extended to the following: former director of the museum, Professor Oh Jin-kyeong, who initially planned and began preparations for the event; Professor Hong Sun-pyo, who was consulted for the conceptual direction of the exhibition; Mses. Cho Eun-jung, Song Hee Kyung, Carey Park, and Kim So-yeon, for their advice and esteemed opinions on the guidebook and the exhibition; and Mr. Kim Chae-sik, for his analysis and interpretation of inscriptions and seals on a number of pieces.
In particular, the exhibition was made all the more special for the generous loans of artwork from collections held by institutions such as Gyeonggi Provicial Museum, Korea University Museum, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, Bukchon Art Museum, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul Museum, Yonsei University Museum Woljeon Museum of Art Icheon and Ewha Womans University Library. Furthermore, I would like to end by thanking everyone at Graphicnet, for their meticulous work on designing and editing the guidebook; all of the interns involved in various related events; and finally, everyone at the curator’s office of the Ewha Womans University Museum for their selfless and concerted efforts that made this exhibition possible.