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| yna@yna.co.kr 2023-11-22 08:00:44
[K-People] Jeju-inspired painter inhales reality, exhales revolution
By Kim Ji-sun, creator Yoo Sae-jin
SEOUL, Nov. 22 (Yonhap) -- Neither heaven nor hell tempts painter Lee Wal Chong as his posthumous destination. The 78-year-old painter's fascination is Seogwipo, Jeju Island, where flowers bloom four seasons of the year.
Born in 1945 in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, he resigned from his professorship at the Graduate School of Arts at Chugye University for the Arts in 1991. For the next 30-some years, he worked as a full-time painter in tangerine-rich Seogwipo, his source of inspiration and fame as "Jeju artist Lee Wal Chong."
His works are best known for free composition, cheerful colors and decorative panoramas. His works reflect the creator’s admiration for the Buddhist teachings of "jungdo," or the balanced state of mind, and "yeongi," or the circulation of life in one big harmony.
"All things are equal… They circulate through birth and death. So is gardening. Flowers (wither but their) seeds dive back to the flowerbed. We pluck weeds but they grow back with haste," Lee said in an interview with Yonhap on Sunday.
For decades, Lee has accumulated global recognition as a genre painter. Unbridled imagination and sensitivity embody his resolution to overcome the conventions of East Asian painting.
To Lee, modernization means an artistic revolution of the real world. He said, "We must constantly put ourselves up for challenges. Challenges generate vitality."
"Look at Picasso and Dali, Kim Hong-do and Shin Yun-bok. Revolutionary, aren’t they? The virtue of genre painting is facing the reality and expressing it in your way."
Lee is yet to face another big challenge next month. Bunker of Lumiere in Seogwipo, a landmark museum for immersive digital arts, will feature his upcoming exhibition "The Island of Golden Mean Jeju" from Dec. 1.
The exhibition will highlight a series of Lee’s works since he declared himself a full-time artist in 1992 and moved to Seogwipo. It also includes a new work, inspired by the poem "Makgeolli" by Korean poet Cheon Sang-byeong.
The exhibition will highlight Lee’s bold attempts at various subjects and techniques, going beyond painting. He has also had several experiences in media art.
For the event, He allowed media artists to freely dismantle the original works but asked them to preserve "fun" and "density." Lee and the crew have formed a bond of trust for the past 15 years.
Lee said he felt nervous about the results, but wished that the viewers would leave the exhibition hall feeling happy.
Established in 2018, Bunker of Lumiere has displayed many digital projections of world classics, including works by Gustav Klimt, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne. Lee will be the first Korean painter to join the roster.
The museum plans to introduce more homegrown painters to the global viewership. The Lumiere museum networks span in nine major cities globally, including Paris, New York and Amsterdam.
"I hope this exhibition succeeds and gives other Korean artists the opportunities to reach overseas markets at a fair price," Lee said.
He emphasized that "art flourishes on money," underscoring the significance of active presentations of local art works.
"Works by Korean artists are the most undervalued (globally). The only exception is Kim Whanki. There are many foreign artists whose works go higher than 10 billion won (US$7.8 million) a piece. I think it is because Korean works have had fewer chances to be introduced globally."
Lee pointed out that Korea has strong foundation of high artistic mastery, citing masterpieces made in Joseon Dynasty and Goryeo Dynasty. Nevertheless, lack of inroads to the global art networks has frustrated many gifted artists from Korea.
"I’ve been fortunate to make a living by painting... I am happy to paint flowers," he said.
"But there were a constellation of great painters who painted better than I did but died out."
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