Welcome A beautiful performanceObserver highlights a recently opened museum exhibition in a museum not in New York City, and places we know and like have attracted a lot of attention.
Nature painting is a difficult proposition in modern times. In an earlier time, the landscape offers viewers the opportunity to see places they have never been to, or the naked eye and romantic metaphor of the human condition. Today, our existing problems are often expressed through the themes of technology and consumerism. The painters of nature compete with air tickets, lush and otherworldly landscapes found in the virtual world and David Attenborough.
But painter Kim Chong Hak (born 1937) managed to attract the attention of Korean millennials and Gen Z. A new performance at the high-level art museum “Kim Chong Hak, painter of Seoraksan”, aims to introduce his work to American audiences, and the first exhibition in the country was named after his own mountain name, his regular theme, the highest theme in the Taebaek Mountain series. Kim moved to Gangwon Province in the late 1970s, which explored towards these peaks, where a universe was discovered that continues to inspire him today.
His theme may be classic, but King uses modern vernacular. American audiences may have just discovered Kim Jong Il, but it is obvious that he keeps up with the development of Western painting. No. 13 (2006) provides hillsides with a large number of personality and technology. The plane where each long oil works can be made by another artist, the sky is impressive, and the chunky Montenegro rock walls look more like Mark Rothko. The reason for working is the stem of the plant, which gives it the above characteristics. Without them, this landscape would be desolate. Instead, it works hard. It's no surprise that people further away are presented as provocative scores, while the prospect emanates from pink and green snow.
It is obvious that botany is as many disciplines as his art history. One of his new works, Untitled (Landscape Series) (2021) is a lush jungle that not only shows his diversity in painting styles, but also his knowledge of species. You can't invent many different kinds of flowers, trees and leaves. It's one of those paintings that attract you and surround you, a mess of green that almost crosses your eyes.
Let's put another influence into the mix: the Korean craft tradition. His complex flowers are so meticulous and vivid that only one of them can decorate a household object, and in fact, such objects are his inspiration. With his art in this show are some of the design objects in his collection. His flowers do indeed resemble a rainbow of his, also known as a wrapping cloth. These may be wrapped in a pair of carved ducks and show the wedding to the bride and groom, and King has one of them in his collection. One has a Korean feel, as a natural and elaborate land, the evening sun sets behind the mountains, accompanied by visible brushstrokes.
“Seoraksan painter Kim Chong HakIt has been observed at the Museum of Advanced Art until November 2, 2025.
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