The First Mokwoohoe Exhibition, Leaflet, 1958, MMCA Art Research Center Collection
Mokwoohoe
* Source: Multilingual Glossary of Korean Art. Korea Arts Management Service
Related
-
To Sangbong
To Sangbong (1902-1977, pen name Docheon) learned western painting from Ko Huidong at Bosung High School. He graduated from the Department of Western Art at Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1927 and participated in the Yeoran and Dongmi alumni groups. He organized a Drawing Exhibition with Gu Bonung and Lee Haeseon in 1931. After Independence, he participated in the National Art Exhibition as a judge from 1946 to 1961 and became a member of the Republic of Korea's National Academy of Arts in 1957. His works were based on the Classicism and Academism that he learned at Tokyo School of Fine Arts. His work was characterised by regular compositions and warm colors. In his early years, he mainly produced portraits, but he switched to softly painted still life subjects, such as flowers or Korean white porcelain objects mid-career. During his late career he created realistic works presenting Oriental philosophy as he saw it embodied within historically significant landscapes. To Sangbong achieved significant influence in Korea thanks to his gentle translation of the Western Academic tradition.
-
Deoksugung Museum of Art
A term that refers to two separate art museums that have existed in the grounds of Deoksugung palace at different times. First, the Yi Royal Family Museum, which was built in 1938 and renamed the Deoksugung Museum of Art after independence in 1948. This iteration of the Museum was merged with the National Museum of Korea in 1969. Separately, in 1998 a branch of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea (now MMCA) was established at this location, and also named the Deoksugung Museum of Art. In 2013, the official name of the branch was changed to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung but some people still use the previous name, Deoksugung Museum of Art.
-
Figurative art
Figurative art refers to a style that depicts objects, both real and imaginary, in a realistic manner. It became popularized within Western Art in parallel with the emergence of Modernist abstract art during the early 20th century. In the Korean art community, discourses on figurative art began when the Western Art division of National Art Exhibition (Gukjeon) was separated into the figurative, semi-abstract, and abstract categories in 1961. In 1969 the Western Art division of the Grand Art Exhibition was reorganized into the figurative and non-figurative categories. At this point the idea of figurative art was established within the Korean art community to primarily refer to painting and sculpture created in an Academic realist style.
Find More
-
National Art Exhibition
A government-hosted exhibition held 30 times from 1949 to 1981, also known by the shorter name Gukjeon. Following national independence, the exhibition was the primary means for young and emergent Korean artists to achieve recognition. The influence of the exhibition declined as a result of the emergence of non-figurative art during the 1970s, the increased opportunities for artists to participate in overseas exhibitions, and the rise of private exhibitions and galleries.
-
Yim Jiksoon
Yim Jiksoon (1921-1996, pen name Unchang) moved to Japan in 1936. He graduated from the Japan Art School in 1942 and returned to Korea in 1943. He was selected for the 1940 and 1941 Joseon Art Exhibitions (Joseon misul jeollamhoe). After independence, his Art Studio won the Minister of Education award at the National Art Exhibition (Gukjeon) in 1956 and his work, A Seated Statue, won the President award in 1957. He became a Noteworthy Artist and Invited Artist at the National Art Exhibition. Yim Jiksoon taught at Chosun University as a professor from 1961 to 1985. He was recognised as a painter and teacher with an immense passion for art and education and became a leading figure during the heyday of the Honam local regionLwestern painting community. His works were based on familiar, everyday objects. He has also been particularly celebrated for his female figures. From the late 1980s until his death, he primarily focused on painting natural scenes. Yim Jiksoon's painting was driven by his interest in light and color, and his reflections on the essential themes of nature and humanity, concerns which he rendered in bright and warm compositions.
-
Kim Insoong
Kim Insoong (1911-2001, pen name Jiyeon) created paintings in the Western Academic manner, using precise lines, realistic forms, and harmonious compositions. He was born in Kaesong in 1911 to a merchant family who traded in ginseng and completed Kawabata Art School in Japan in 1932. He then attended Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and his work, A Naked Woman, won the Changdeokgung Palace grand prize at the Joseon Art Exhibition [Joseon misul jeollamhoe] in 1938. He produced figure paintings of celebrities, landscapes, and historical sites in Korea, in later life focusing on the creation of rose-themed works. In 1945, he actively participated in the foundation of the first art department in Korea at Ewha Womans University. Representative of his balanced academic style are paintings such as Art Studio, which depicts an artist sitting on a chair, and was submitted to the sixteenth Joseon Art Exhibition, or The Melody of Spring (1942).
Sign Up for Email Updates
