MINHWA & minhwa: Korean Folk Paintings in Dialogue With the Contemporary

Gallery Korea at the Korean Cultural Center New York

* Seongmin Ahn’s Artworks

Evolutionary Impulse_02, 2018 / Evolutionary Impulse_04, 2018 / Aphrodisiac_27, 2019
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Mountains, a common subject matter in Asian traditional paintings, are growing out of a Western-style teacup. They look as if they are pouring out of the water, and as the title suggests, represent  growth, eruption, and expansion. The work is a self-reflection of the artist herself as an Asian artist in a foreign place, finding her way of living and thriving.

Mindscape, 2020 ↑ (Click the image to check out details)

This painting portrays the mysterious, primal impulse from Ahn’s subconscious, depicted as mountains, which deeply influences the artist in every aspect of her life. The mountains in the work are both indescribable and undefinable. The painting explores the artist’s existing interests in coexistence, openness, balance, and interconnectedness of contrasting but complementary elements.  

Two different perspectives with two different vanishing points are used to depict the distinct areas: one painted with traditional Asian coloring techniques and the other with fluorescent paint to create a starkly contrasting and surreal atmosphere. A European furniture motif was used to bring cross-cultural elements, which serve as a counter for the Korean traditional bookshelf. Water floods out of the bookshelf (painted in green fluorescent colors) and transforms the water falling from the drawers. A continental shift occurring in the bookshelf leads the audience into the artist’s Mindscape.

Seongmin Ahn,Voyage Into Hyper-Dimension_01,2020
Ink,wash,pigment on mulberry paper, 48x72in

Seongmin Ahn,Voyage Into Hyper-Dimension_01,2020
Ink,wash,pigment on mulberry paper, 48x72in [With UV Light]

Voyage Into Hyper-dimension, 2020 ↑ (Click the image to check out details)

This painting uses two vanishing points with two different perspectives to depict a singular bookshelf. The linear perspective was used in the traditionally painted area and the inverse reverse perspective used in the area painted with fluorescent colors. One vanishing point exists in the back of the picture frame and the other exists in front of the picture frame, automatically creating different angles of diagonal lines converging toward two different points. This in turn creates a conceptual in-between space, the nexus between two disparate visual realities.   

Ahn borrows the visualized idea of curved space-time theory to portray a hyper-dimensional world of imagination and to give immense gravity to the mountains. Cloud patterns outside of bookshelf warp the mountains, just as how curved space-time warps massive objects. This implies an expansion of thoughts into macro-universal imagination in vast space. Physics is about a world of the unknown and mysterious, and resonates with Ahn as a spiritual world. 

Luminous fluorescent paint was used along with Asian traditional matte finish paint to emphasize the contrast between two distinct worlds and to create a surrealistic atmosphere. At the center of the bookshelf, a side chair from the 18th century southern Germany replaced collectible items from the Qing dynasty which commonly appear in traditional minhwa Chaekgeori. It is an empty chair that invites a philosopher to sit within the painting. To Ahn, anyone who has the ability to think can be a philosopher; and she extends an invitation to everyone and anyone who may have a different perspective from her’s.

Coalesced_01/02/03, 2018 ↑ (Click the image to check out details)

Peonies and mountains are merged and synthesized, then grow together as one being. The peony represents femininity and Yin, while the mountain represents masculinity and Yang. They grow out of a bizarre, fantastical rock which also serves as an entrance into a newly transformed world of two opposite entities. This work represents the unification, coexistence, and balance of the two contradictory icons of the mountain and peony. 

Voyage_01, Ink, wash and pigment on mulberry paper, wood panel laser-cut and house paint, 2019

Voyage_01, Ink, wash and pigment on mulberry paper, wood panel laser-cut and house paint, 2019 [Detail]

Voyage_01, 2019 ↑ (Click the image to check out details)

Mountains, painted in the traditional Asian landscape painting style, are escaping from classical books, growing and exploring into the greater world. Mountains represent the artist herself or rigid ideas confined in a conventional framework going through a transformational experience.

Hyper-Dimension Within_01, 36x36 in, ink, pigment and wash on mulberry paper, 2020

Philosopher’s Chair_01, 24x18 in, ink, washand pigment on mulberry paper, 2020

Hyper-Dimension Within_02, 36x36 in, ink, pigment and wash on mulberry paper, 2020

Hyper-Dimension Within_01/02, 2020 ↑ (Click the image to check out details)

Ahn takes a smaller section of her larger work “Mindscape” (on view), her version of the Chaekgado, where books are closely stacked. She amplifies this portion using her minimalistic interpretations, adding the narrative of “hyper-dimension within” in the center compartment of the bookshelf to represent an entrance into a surrealistic world.

Philosopher’s Chair_01, 2020 ↑ (Click the image to check out details)

Upholstery of a European armchair was redesigned by Ahn with an Asian landscape painting motif. An empty chair invites people with different backgrounds to sit and think with her. Mountains represent fragments of floating thoughts.

 Inter-relation_02, 03 series, 2015 ↑ (Click the image to check out details)

“Inter-relation” is a portrait of different natures and emotions which are very complex, multilayered, intertwined together in both individual and societal states. In this work, Ahn analyzes those natures and emotions, and then separates them to present each element of nature or emotion through an object. Although implications are open-ended, a gun may represent anger, violence, and power, a flower may represent delicacy and beauty of gentle nature, and an empty word balloon may represent silence. 

While the gun represents masculinity, power, and violence in the “Inter-relation_02” series, its form and meaning are deconstructed, altered, and feminized in the “Inter-relation_03” series. The painting also portrays the dynamics of different elements in a patriarchal society. Explosively escaping objects from the guns can represent a fragile and suppressed ego, yet the works have multiple dualistic representations. For example, an empty word balloon represents oppressed silence, yet it can also mean the possibility to rewrite. Scalpel knife can both be a weapon to hurt and a tool to heal if used right.  

Han Kang’s novel The Vegetarian gave further inspiration in developing the “Inter-relation_03” series. In the novel, the main character, who ends up being hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital, tries to become a tree wishing to be peaceful. In response to this story, Ahn thought that ‘The one who really should be a vegetarian (a tree or a peaceful person), is the one with a gun -- the one with power and violence, not the gentle or the weak.’ But in reality, these are precisely the people wouldn’t want to be or don’t even know they should be. 

Red and gold used for the gun are the colors that were used only for the king’s robe in the Joseon dynasty. The gun in red and gold, with a deconstructed shape, is a message that she is sending to the person with power who misuses it.

* Virtual Gallery video / Working process video of the artist, Seongmin Ahn

ABOUT THE ARTIST

© Courtesy of the artist

© Courtesy of the artist

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.

THE USE OF MINHWA

Minhwa was used extensively in the daily life of Korea—most commonly as decorations in living spaces or as folding screens used in family celebrations. People believed these folk paintings brought happiness, luck, wealth, health, fame, fertility, and even believed that it had the power to ward off evil spirits. It takes much time, concentration, and technical skills to complete the elaborate work of a minhwa painting. Minhwa expresses humor, wit, optimism, and love through strong, roughly drawn lines, vivid colors, and bold, unconventional layouts, while boldly mocking and exaggerating social norms. Freedom of composition of objects, animals, and flowers all reflect the philosophy of Korean people. 

TYPES OF MINHWA

While minhwa is divided into different based on purpose, technique, and theme, the common classification is by theme and types the divided groups are as follows: Morando (Painting of Peony), the most well-known type of minhwa; Chaekgeori (Painting of Books and Stationery); Hwajodo (Painting of Flowers and Birds); Sipjangsaengdo (Painting of Ten Symbols of Longevity); Munjado (Painting of Characters); Hojakdo (Painting of Tiger, Magpie, and Pine Tree), Chochungdo (Painting of Flowers and Insects); Hopeedo (Painting of Tiger Stripe); and Yongsudo (Painting of Divine Animals). 

MORANDO/모란도 (Painting of Peony) 

The peony (moran) traditionally symbolizes wealth, honor, and high social status, and is widely used as a motif in paintings from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The flower has also been deemed as a symbol of peace and stability of the nation throughout history. As Koreans hold high regard for the flower, also known as the “king of flowers,” peony paintings (called morando) were originally produced for use in palaces. By the late Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), however, they were found in ordinary households as well. Some wealthy families were able to afford their own peony screens, while common Koreans usually borrowed one from the village authority for weddings and other special occasions such as the sixtieth birthday celebrations. Paintings of peonies were usually placed in women’s rooms (anbang) or rooms of newlyweds (shinbang), as the combination of flowers and rocks is known to symbolize the bride and groom.

↑Anonymous
A Pair of Peonies with Chinese Ideograph for Long Life and Good Fortune, late 19th century, Ink and mineral color on paper
Each: 47 x 16 1/4 in (119.38 x 41.275 cm) / Each mounted: 60 x 20 1/2 in (152.4 x 52.07 cm)

CHAEKGEORI/책거리 (Painting of Books and Stationery)
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Chaekgeori (also known as chaekgado) is a painting genre that found great favor with scholars. Chaekgeori contains images of piles of books, as well as miscellaneous objects that express an ardent desire for knowledge and wisdom. The objects commonly include Four Treasures of the Study (paper, brush, inkstone, and ink stick) as well as flower vases, wine vessels, arrows, fans, eyeglasses, wooden sculptures of divine animals, musical instruments, garments, and flowers. They also include a variety of fruits and vegetables that represent fertility and longevity, such as melons, peaches, cucumbers, pomegranates, and eggplants. Chaekgeori is especially distinctive for its eccentric perspective and image ratios, and unlike other types of minhwa that may feature more freedom of form, the chaekgado is often very high in technical consistency and quality.

HWAJODO/화조도 (Painting of Flowers and Birds)
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The most well-known Korean folk painting theme is Hwajodo, a painting of flowers and birds. Hwajodo folding screens usually depict pairs of birds, deer, rabbits, butterflies, or bees on each panel because pairings of animals symbolize a happy marriage. Since the theme of a loving couple was believed to encourage fertility, the Hwajodo was specially used as decorations in the bedrooms of newlyweds or for wedding ceremonies.

SIPJANGSAENGDO/십장생도 (Painting of Ten Symbols of Longevity)
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The Sipjangsaengdo is a painting that depicts the ten elements of nature symbolic of eternal youth. These symbols are: the sun, clouds, mountains, water, pine trees, turtles, deer, cranes, peaches, and the herb of eternal youth. The Sipjangsaengdo reveals a cultural tradition unique to Korea. Considered to be the most grand and majestic of the minhwa genre, it was used at various palace banquets with the ten different themes harmonizing effectively on an expansive canvas.

MUNJADO/문자도 (Painting of Characters)
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Munjado screens superimpose depictions of symbolic animals, birds, fish, plants, as well as lyrical scenes, onto Chinese ideographs. Munjado conveys the eight principles of Confucian morality, and each panel has a Chinese ideograph and the matching design in order. The eight virtues are: filial duty (hyo), brotherly friendship (jae), loyalty (choong), trust (shin), courtesy (ye), righteousness (ui), integrity (yom), and sensibility (chi). Rooted in Chinese philosophy, Munjado screens were mostly used in middle and upper class family households.

HOJAKDO/호작도 (Painting of Tiger, Magpie and Pine Tree) 
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Hojakdo paintings were displayed at homes in the beginning of the New Year to protect families from evil. In the painting shown here, a courageous and supple tiger is intertwined with a gnarled tree. The tiger and the tree, the two central figures in the composition, create a dynamic tension and visual coherence. In one Korean folktale, a wise magpie fools a tiger in order to save the life of a kind woodcutter. In this work, the magpie perches safely on a branch out of reach from the tiger, teasing him from above. Paired with the tiger, the magpie represents the good fortune that will happen in the upcoming year.

* Installation view (Click the image to check out details)

About the Exhibition

MINHWA+&+minhwa-KCSNY-민화-01+(1).jpg

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.

 
Taehyun Hwang