[Virtual Gallery] MINHWA & minhwa: Korean Folk Paintings in Dialogue With the Contemporary (Reopened)
Reopening Schedule: September 10 ~ October 8, 2020
Gallery Korea of the Korean Cultural Center New York
(460 Park Ave. 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022)
The Korean Cultural Center New York is pleased to present MINHWA & minhwa: Korean Folk Paintings in Dialogue With the Contemporary, a special exhibition on the Korean traditional folk painting called minhwa, which traces its history back to the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Through overall understanding of contents and characteristics of minhwa, the exhibition sheds light on how the tradition has evolved throughout history and impacts Korean painting today.
Minhwa, an artistic style that reflects the lives and spirits of Korean people, became widely popular during the 19th and 20th centuries. It was in high demand from the new merchant class and civilians, as the centralised authoritarian rule of the Joseon Dynasty slowly collapsed starting in the late 17th century and through the 19th century.
Up until the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, minhwa paintings were painted by court artists for use in palaces. However, with the societal changes in the late Joseon Dynasty, they started to be painted by anonymous artists of the middle and lower classes, who produced and disseminated minhwa. The common people’s wishes for a healthy and prosperous life and desire to beautify their own living environments gave birth to the development of minhwa that reflects Koreans’ daily life, customs, and aesthetics.
The freedom, self-consciousness, and various modes of expression in portraying thoughts, wishes, and emotions in minhwa are very much in line with what contemporary art addresses today. Such quality of minhwa is what led to renewed attention on this relatively neglected artistic tradition in Korean art history.
MINHWA & minhwa: Korean Folk Paintings in Dialogue With the Contemporary aims to narrate how the Korean folk painting from the 19th century is being reinterpreted in contemporary art by introducing works by artist Seongmin Ahn who recreates minhwa in her own way. By bringing together traditional Korean minhwa works including Chaekgado screens and Morando paintings created around a century ago alongside contemporary minhwa paintings, this special exhibition will provide the viewer with a deeper understanding of Korean culture and heritage.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
© Courtesy of the artist
Seongmin Ahn
Seongmin Ahn received a BFA and MFA in Asian traditional painting from Seoul National University and a second MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. With practical experience and a deep understanding of tradition, her work takes Asian traditional painting as a starting point and transforms it into something experimental with her own interpretation, bridging tradition and modern, and East and West.
Using iconography from minhwa, Korean folk painting from the 19th century, Ahn juxtaposes it with objects from either Western culture or daily surroundings to create interesting narratives in each painting. While the subject matter is diverse, the artist always employs the same materials and techniques used in traditional minhwa. For example, Ahn creates deep and saturated colors by applying multiple thin layers of translucent color with rabbit skin glue.
Ahn has exhibited nationally and internationally, including solo shows at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (Wilmington, DE), Queens College Art Center (Flushing, NY), and Charles B. Wang Center (Stony Brook, NY). She is a two-time grant recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and the first prize winner of Visual Art Competition from the AHL Foundation, and has been reviewed in The Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, NY Arts magazine, The Baltimore Sun, The Plain Dealer and others. Ahn has also taught Asian traditional painting at various institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Queens Museum, and the Art Students League of New York.