▲ Korean modern artist Chang Ucchin's first family portrait "Family" (1955) is seen in this photo provided by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA). (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ The poster of "The Most Honest Confession: Chang Ucchin Retrospective" indicates the retrospective exhibition opens on Sept. 14, 2023, at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Deoksugung. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Korean artist-retrospective

Retrospective unveils painter Chang Ucchin's 1st family portrait

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- The first family portrait by celebrated Korean painter Chang Ucchin (1917-1990) will go on public display for the first time since its rediscovery at his retrospective exhibition set to open later this week.

Including "Family," the exhibition, "The Most Honest Confession: Chang Ucchin Retrospective," will showcase about 270 works of oil paintings, drawings, prints and cover arts at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA)'s Deoksugung branch from Thursday to Feb. 12, 2024.

Chang, one of the most influential figures in Korean modern art history, is known for his uniquely Korean paintings that blended Western painting styles and the pursuit of simplicity. His small, cute drawings filled with childlike imagination depicted a limited number of subjects.

Among the notable works is "Family" (1955), which was thought to have been missing for six decades after Japanese collector Shiozawa Sadao bought it in 1964.

The whereabouts of the painting had been unknown until it was recently discovered in a storage closet in the collector's former atelier in Japan. The painting, among some 30 family portraits by Chang, underwent restoration work by the MMCA before going on display.

The exhibition, jointly presented by Chang Ucchin Museum of Art in Yangju, north of Seoul, offers a comprehensive retrospective of Chang's six decades of artist career from his school years in the 1920s to his passing in 1990.

The exhibition highlights Chang's works through his entire artistic career. It also features some of his most iconic works, such as "Self Portrait" (1951), which was completed during the Korean War, and "Night and Old Man" (1990), produced two months prior to Chang's passing.

Parts 1 and 4 offer a chronological view of the artist's career from his youth to his final years.

Part 2 highlights Chang's repeated motifs, such as "magpie," "tree," "sun" and "moon," in terms of their content and format, while Part 3 showcases Chang's Buddhist worldview and philosophical musings.

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