A World of Paintings: On the Lee Kun-hee Collection
2025
그림이라는 별세계: 이건희컬렉션과 함께
Seoul Museum of Art, Buk-Seoul
Curator: Suyeon Do
Artists: Kang Yobae, Quac Insik, Kwon Okyon, Kim Bongtae, Bang Haija, Yoo Youngkuk, Lee Insung, Ha Indoo
강요배, 곽인식, 권옥연, 김봉태, 방혜자, 유영국, 이인성, 하인두
A World of Paintings: A Journey Through the Space of Painting
Painting—one of the most enduring forms in art history—has long been the act of rendering form and color upon a flat surface. Yet in A World of Paintings, the medium transcends its traditional frame. Here, painting expands beyond the canvas and into space itself, unfolding as a lived experience. This exhibition traces the artistic paths of eight painters who, across the tumult of Korea’s modern and contemporary history, pursued a world that only painting could express. Their works, drawn from the Lee Kun-hee Collection and various public and private institutions, form a resonant, polyphonic narrative across time.The exhibition is composed of eight spatial sections, each framed by an archway and enveloped in a distinct hue. These chromatic environments serve not only as visual thresholds but as emotional and conceptual passages—inviting viewers to inhabit the tempo, tone, and texture of each artist’s world. Blush pinks suggest warmth and introspection, brilliant yellows vibrate with life, deep blues summon meditative focus, and muted whites evoke quiet clarity. As visitors move from one space to the next, they do not simply view paintings; they traverse a landscape of memory, sensation, and spirit.
SECTION 1 – Appearance, Scenes, and Nature
The journey begins with depictions of the visible world—figures, landscapes, and still lifes that anchor the artists’ gaze. These are not passive images of nature but intimate reconstructions of remembered places, imagined terrains, and emotional geographies. Through this lens, nature becomes more than subject matter—it emerges as metaphor, vessel, and mirror of the inner life. In this space, viewers are gently invited to walk alongside the artists' memories, dreams, and longings.SECTION 2 – Color Is Alive
In the second section, form yields to the force of color. These paintings embrace abstraction, distilling visual language into fields of hue and structure. Color is not a means to an end—it is the very subject, animated and essential. With each step, viewers are enveloped by tones that pulse and radiate, evoking the primal energy of the natural world. Color, in this space, is not observed—it is experienced.SECTION 3 – The Act of Spiritual Practice through Materials
The final gallery opens onto a space of contemplation. Here, painting becomes an act of devotion: a rhythmic encounter between the artist and the material world. Through repeated gestures and layered pigments—sometimes even applied to the reverse side of the paper—color begins to breathe, bleed, and transcend its surface. This is painting as meditation, as ritual, as a search for essence. The room is hushed, yet quietly radiant.공간을 걷는 회화의 세계
회화는 평면에 색과 형을 얹는 가장 오래된 예술 형식이지만, 이 전시에서 회화는 단지 벽에 걸린 이미지가 아닙니다. 회화는 통로이며 문이며, 공간 자체가 됩니다. ‘그림이라는 별세계: 이건희 컬렉션과 함께' 는 한국 근현대사를 관통하며 ‘그리는 행위’를 통해 자신만의 세계를 구축해온 여덟 명의 작가들을 조명합니다. 전시는 단지 작품을 나열하는 것을 넘어, 각 작가의 예술적 언어를 하나의 색과 리듬으로 풀어낸 여덟 개의 아치형 공간으로 구성되어 있습니다. 그 속에서 회화는 벽 위에만 머무르지 않고, 공간 전체에 숨을 쉽니다.관람자는 전시장에 들어서는 순간 하나의 세계에 입장합니다. 공간마다 다른 색으로 입혀진 아치형 문을 지나며, 관람자는 작가들의 내면, 시대, 그리고 기억 속을 걸어가게 됩니다. 분홍빛 벽은 사적이고 따뜻한 회화적 시선을 비추고, 노란 공간은 생생한 색채의 숨결을 품습니다. 푸른 방에 들어서면 색이 살아 움직이며 빛을 내고, 차분한 흰 공간은 물질과 호흡하는 작가의 수행적 태도를 담아냅니다.
