[Center, Indomitable Spirit], Korean Contemporary Art Special Exhibition held by Korean Cultural Centre India

– Group exhibition by five representative Korean contemporary artists: Ahn Chang Hong, Kim Keun Joong, Hong Kyoung Taek, Lee Gil Woo and Kim Deok Han

– First visit to India by Korean contemporary art masters

Korean contemporary art masters have come to India for a special exhibition. Korean Cultural Centre India held a group exhibition of five representative Korean contemporary artists, Ahn Chang Hong, Kim Keun Joong, Hong Kyoung Tack, Lee Gil Woo, and Kim Deok Han. The Opening Ceremony of the special exhibition was held on 8th November at the Korean Cultural Centre India gallery and the exhibition will be on until 3rd January 2025.

The Opening Ceremony was attended by distinguished guests including Mr Sanjeev Kishore Gautam, Director General, National Gallery Modern Art (NGMA); Mr Sourabh Wasson, Director, India Art Fair; and senior Indian artist, Mr. Niren Sen Gupta.

The exhibition theme, “Center,” expands from the meaning of the axle that forms the center of an object to the meaning of the center of human mind, will, and its culture. The exhibition’s subtitle, “Indomitable Spirit,” is an expression of the will that the hearts of artists who pursue peace and empathy cannot be broken in an oppressive modern society where various problems and issues are constantly present and represents the world of work and will of the five representative artists.

Ahn Chang Hong is a representative senior artist in Korean modern art who has been focusing on individuals suffering from the tragedies of modern history. Ahn, who rejected institutionalized art and established himself as a people’s artist, raises fundamental questions about life and death through bold and direct strokes. In works such as “Family Photo,” “Face,” and “Nameless,” Ahn’s gaze upon the individuals who were crushed by the barbarism of modern history is filled with absurdity, unrest, and dissatisfaction.

Kim Keun Joong believes that the essential pursuit of painting is ‘The Spirit of Freedom’ and he has been working on breaking through the consciousness that has been defined and tainted by language. According from Kim’s artist’s note he said, “Just as poetry relies on symbols and metaphors to rescue human beings trapped in language, art is a poem about human beings.” Kim uses symbols and metaphors for our desire-driven lives, and freedom from the painful karma of “a tangled mind filled with good and bad” as his life study. The artist, who was impressed by the brilliant colors and scale of the <Donhwang Mural>, says he felt that the cracks were actually saying something deeper.

Lee Gil Woo is an artist who creates double-posed images by overlaying another image onto Hanji (traditional Korean paper) that has been punctured with thousands of holes using incense and a heated tool. The images in Lee’s works are presented in a pop art style that combines traditional landscape backgrounds with famous figures and characters, effectively reflecting the multilayered reality where the East and West overlap. The three-dimensional silhouettes revealed through the incense-punctured holes convey that human nature, aesthetic sensibility, and the narratives of life are dual, ambiguous, and contradictory.

Hong Kyoung Tack, as frontrunner in Korean Pop art, is an artist who fully expresses the explosive power of everyday objects through a canvas filled with full-color ballpoint pens, pencils, and books. Hong effectively portrays the world of self-consciousness through the sleek texture and color of plastic, the densely packed, seemingly infinitely proliferating canvases, and the exaggerated sizes, all of which reflect overwhelming obsession and paranoia. Hong mentions that the natural and peripheral sensation of plastic stimulates curiosity. Additionally, its everyday yet deviant nature draws out fantasy. His works take fantasy, an erotic desire, as a painterly theme and complete spaces filled to the brim, leaving no empty areas, thus embodying an obsessive environment.

Kim Deok Han uses traditional lacquer as the main material, combining East Asia’s unique traditions and methodologies with contemporary art. The inspiration for his work came from the repeated process of stripping and repainting the surface of damaged Buddhist statues. The process of grinding down, polishing, and restoring the original shine of the Buddha statue led him to this thought: “Our current form is made up of accumulated past.”

Hwang Il Yong, Director of Korean Cultural Centre India said, “The theme of this exhibition, “Center, Indomitable Spirit” embodies the unbending hearts of Korea and India, which have overcome difficult situations over a long period of time, and the core of two countries that love peace and coexistence. I hope that this exhibition will be able to capture this sense of homogeneity between the two countries, Korea and India, and the bond as colleagues who fight together to protect their respective centers. I look forward to forming another huge axis, center not only with the artists attending the exhibition but also with everyone who visits and sympathizes with us.”

Park Chulhee, CEO of Asia Art Management Association said, “I hope the Asia artists can take their indomitable spirit centered mutual heart and will through this exhibition.”

Sanjeev Kishore Gautam, Director General, National Gallery Modern Art (NGMA) said, “This exhibition is very beautiful. I am very happy to be here today as the Director General of the National Gallery of Modern Art. The artworks over here are excellent, the Korean contemporary art as well as the folk art. I would like to congratulate all the artists present here and I would like to thank the Korean Cultural Centre India for inviting me to this beautiful evening over here. India and Korea have very good relations with each other.”