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Kim Whanki (Korean: 김환기; hanja: 金煥基; April 3, 1913 – July 25, 1974) was a painter and pioneering abstract artist of Korea,[1] born in the village of Eupdong-ri on the island of Kijwa, of Anjwa-myeon, Sinan County, South Jeolla Province in Korea under Japanese rule. Kim lived and worked in a number of cities and countries during his lifetime, including Tokyo, Japan; Seoul and Busan, Korea; Paris, France; and New York City, USA, where he passed away.

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.
Whanki Kim
Born(1913-04-03)April 3, 1913
South Jeolla Province, South Korea
DiedJuly 25, 1974(1974-07-25) (aged 61)
New York City, U.S.
NationalityKorean
Known forPainting
MovementAbstract art
SpouseHyang-an Kim
ChildrenWha Young Kim
Young Suk Kim
Geum Ja Kim
Chung In Kim
RelativesKu Pon-ung
Yun Hyongkeun
T.O.P (great-nephew)
Whanki Kim
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationKim Hwangi
McCune–ReischauerKim Hwanki

Kim belongs to the first generation of Korean Abstract artists, mixing oriental concepts and ideals with abstraction. With refined and moderated formative expression based on Korean Lyricism, he created his characteristic art world. His artworks largely dealt with diverse hues and patterns.[2] Kim's early works were semi-abstract paintings which allowed viewers to see certain forms, but his later works were more deeply absorbed abstract paintings, filled with lines and spaces.[3]

The artist's partner Hyang-an Kim established the Whanki Foundation in 1978 and opened the Whanki Museum in 1992. The Museum, located in Seoul, was built by Korean American architect Kyu Sung Woo.


Biography



Early Life


Born as the fourth child and only son of wealthy farmer and local landowner Kim Sang-hyeon (김상현), Kim Whanki grew up comfortably on Kijwa island. After graduating from elementary school, Kim was sent to Seoul to live with his older sister and attend Choongdong Middle School (중동중학교). His family then supported him to study abroad in Tokyo, Japan, where he attended Nishikishiro (錦城) Middle School. During his five years of study, he learned to play the violin. Once Kim returned home in 1932, his father objected to Kim's wishes to continue his studies and set Kim to marry.[4]: 27–33 

His great-nephew is Choi Seung-hyeon (b. 1987), an artist, actor, and rapper active under the moniker T.O.P as well as a member of Big Bang.[5][6]


Tokyo, Japan: 1932–1937


Having decided to become an artist against his father’s wishes, Kim secretly boarded a vessel bound for Japan.[4]: 33  Thus in 1933, at the age of 20, Kim enrolled in the 3-year program offered at the Department of Arts at Nihon University in Tokyo.[7] During his second year into the program, Kim joined the Avant-Garde Western Art Institute (アヴァンギャルド洋画研究所, AbuangyarudoYōga Kenkyūjo), led by Japanese artists who were introducing to Japan Cubism, Futurism, and Surrealism based on their experience living and working in Europe. Among his mentors were Togo Seiji and Tsuguharu Foujita.[8]: 53  In 1935, Kim is awarded for his first submission to the prestigious Second Section Association (二科会, Nikakai, 이과전, Igwajŏn), When the Skylarks Sing (종달새 노래할 때), marking his debut as an artist. The painting portrays a woman dressed in hanbok, whose body was rendered in geometric, simplified forms. The basket upon her head is "transparent" by showing its content at an impossible angle, revealing Kim's interest apart from realism and towards abstraction.[9]: 23  His experiments of incorporating Korean motifs as simplified forms onto the flat picture plane continued, as can be seen in House <집> (1936) and Sauce Jar Terrace <장독대> (1936). Features often seen in traditional Korean houses, such as wooden gates, paper screen doors, stone walls, stairs, and pottery, are also noted to have added a sense of order and repetition to his paintings, further illustrating his development towards pure abstraction.[8]: 53 

During this time Kim participated in activities lead by Japan's many artist associations, such as the Hakujitsu Fine Art Association (白日会), Light and Wind Club (光風會, Kofukai, 광풍회, Kwangp'unghoe), Free Artists' Association (自由美術家協会, Jiyū Bijutsuka Kyōkai), the Ninth Section Group (九室會; Kyushitsukai), and the White Savages Group (白蛮会, 백만회, Paengmanhoe).[7] The latter was established in 1936 after the closure of the Avant-Garde Western Art Institute by five of its members, including Kim and Gil Jin-seop (길진섭, 吉鎭燮, 1970–1975).[10] His first solo exhibition took place at the Amagi Gallery in Tokyo in January of 1937, only months before returning to Korea. Even after he left Tokyo, Kim continued to submit works to the Free Artists' Association in Japan until 1941, including Rondo <론도> (1938). As one of the earliest examples of abstract art in modern Korea, the country's government designated the painting as a Registered Cultural Property (No. 535) in 2013.[9]: 24 

He even stayed an additional year in Japan as an assistant before returning to Korea in 1937. Kim's time in Tokyo supported his identity as an Abstract artist. In his university years, he became fascinated by the work of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso[11] His works of 1937 and 1938, such as Rondo, Aria, and White Seagull, are said to show a clear turn towards abstraction with their compositions of pure geometric shapes consisting of repeated rhythmic circular and oblong shapes with squares intersecting or overlapping.[12]

Untitled
Untitled

Seoul: 1938–1951


After returning from his studies in Tokyo, Kim continued to befriend members of the Korean literary circle while gaining more interest in traditional Korean art. By 1940, this exhibition was no longer called the Free Painters Exhibition. It was called the Creative Artists Association, due to increasing military tensions that did not encourage new ideas. The Creative Artists Association made a branch in Korea and held its first exhibition in Seoul, where Kim, fellow Korean artists, as well as a number of Japanese artists exhibited their work.[12] Kim is said to have submitted six pieces: Island Tale, Still Life, Landscape 1, Landscape 2, Landscape at Atami, and Chamber Music before he left the Association in 1941.[12]

In 1944, Kim, who had divorced his first wife, remarried Byun Dong-rim (변동림, 卞東琳, 1916–2004), who was a prodigiously talented writer and widow of poet Yi Sang. Defying the objections from their families, Byun took Kim's art name–Hyang-an–at the time of marriage and lived as such until her death. Kim changed his art name to Su-hwa (수화, 樹話).

Korea was liberated from Japanese rule in 1945 and established its independent government by 1948. The same year, Kim, along with artists Yoo Youngkuk, Lee Kyusang (이규상, 李揆祥, 1918–1967), created the New Realism Group (신사실파, Shinsashilp'a). Its foundational idea was to pursue new types of realistic painting and contribute to the perception of a "new formation of reality," which could be exist apart from Japan's direct influence as well as the right-left ideological struggles that dominated the Cold War period of Korea.[8]: 63–64  Navigating between figuration and non-figuration, the group has since been considered pioneers of Korean abstract art and one of the most influential artist groups in Korean modern art.[13] Participating members included Chang Ucchin, Paek Youngsu (백영수, 白榮洙, 1922–2018), and Lee Jung-seob.[13]

For the New Realism Group's second exhibition held in 1949, Kim submitted his painting Jar and Flowers <백자와 꽃> (1949). The work, in which a piece of white porcelain is rendered as a round abstract geometric form, is considered to be one of the earliest examples from Kim's oeuvre in which he employs pottery as a significant motif for which he received critical acclaim.[8]: 64  Since his return to his home country from Japan, Kim had collected and developed a sophisticated taste for Korean antiquities and pottery, especially for a type of white porcelain ware made in the Joseon dynasty widely known as moon jars.[7] It it known that he enjoyed displaying and observing Korean pottery in his home, while depicting the very same objects in his paintings. As a motif in Kim's paintings, Korean pottery was employed as an aesthetic solution for reconciling tradition with modernity.[14]: 29–30 

Our [Korean] jars opened my scope on aesthetic quality and Korean people, which can be said that the textbook I used were these jars.[15]

Based on his submissions to the neorealism exhibitions, Kim's works during 1942 and 1950 show inspiration from nature and everyday life. His desire to present pure composition and simplified objects is evident in work such as Woods.[12]


Busan: 1951–1953


During the Korean War, the South Korean government moved to the southern port city of Busan, along with many refugees. Whanki Kim also fled Seoul for safety in the South and entered a refugee camp for three years. These years are said to have been a time of suffering for Whanki Kim—his wife, Hyang-an Kim, recalls his strong rage and habit of drinking, though he did continue to paint. Some of the works produced during this time are Refugee Train <피난열차> (1951), Landscape at Chin-hae, Shanty, and Jars and Women <항아리와 여인들> (1951).[12]


Seoul: 1953–1956


When Kim Whanki returned to Seoul in 1953, his obsession with jars grew once again and even more than before. He drew jars over and over again in his works including Jar and Poetry, White Jar and Woman, Jar, and Jar and Plum Blossoms. His return to Seoul also allowed him to teach at the College of Fine Arts, Hongik University, to hold a one-man exhibition at the USIS Gallery, and to be elected a member of the Korean Academy.[12]


Paris: 1956–1959


Kim's journals show that his departure for Paris was something he had been planning for quite a while. Starting in 1954, many Korean artists made this trip including Nam Kwan, Kim Heung-su, and Kim Chong-ha. Paris, the capital of the world of modern art, was the place that would cure them of their sense of inferiority, which had resulted from their negative experiences with Western art in Japan.[12] Even though many artists and their works were significantly changed during trips abroad, Kim intentionally retained his artistic style and continued to portray motifs of jars, birds, mountains, deer, and plum blossoms.[12] Away in France, Kim came to better understand and appreciate the unique qualities of Korea and Korean art.


Seoul: 1959–1963


On his return to Seoul in 1959 he was almost immediately offered the position of Dean of Faculty at the College of Fine Arts at Hongik University. In 1960, he became President of Hongik Art College. He found himself teaching and performing administrative duties more often than he was concentrating on art. He often felt frustrated during this time because of conflicts with other board members and the lack of connection between reality and what dreams he had for the institutions of art.[12]


New York: 1963–1974


1963 was the first year Korea participated in the São Paulo Biennial, in which Kim participated as the country's commissioner and among the seven featured artists: Young-ju Kim (김영주, 金永周, (1920–1995), Yoo Youngkuk, Kim Ki-chang, Suh Se-ok, Han Yong-jin (한용진, 韓鏞進, 1934–), and Yoo Gang-yeol (유강열, 劉康烈, 1920–1976).[16]: 143  Submitting three works–Moonlight in Summer Night <여름 달밤> (1961), Moonlight Night of Island <섬의 달밤> (1959), and Cloud and Moon <운월> (1963)–Kim was awarded an Honorable Mention for painting.[7] Upon seeing the works of at the Biennale, such as the works of American artist Adolph Gottlieb whom was awarded the Grande Prêmio, Kim reported his desire for the "internationalization" of Korean art.[14]: 30 

“The Korean room [in the Biennial] was good. My painting wasn't bad either. I felt confident that my art had meaning. ... There's beauty in my art, and this beauty comes from having lived in the Korean countryside."[17]

Thus in 1963, Kim relocated to New York, a city that was emerging as a new center for modern Art.[18] Hyang-an Kim joined Kim in New York the following year. With a grant from the Asia Soceity funded by the foundation of John D. Rockefeller III, they settled in a studio in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.[18] There he finds support from a number of Korean cultural attaché's, Korean American artists Po Kim, John Pai (1937–), and Nam June Paik, as well as American artists Adolph Gottlieb and Mark Rothko.[16]: 151 

Most noted from the artist's time in New York is the rise of the series of "all-over canvas dot paintings" (점면전화, Chŏmmyŏnjŏnhwa) or simply known as "dot paintings." By 1970, Kim began to produce paintings that filled the entire surface of his unprimed canvases with small, irregular dots using oil paint mixed with turpentine.[16]: 195  An early, significant example is Where, in What Form, Shall We Meet Again? <어디서 무엇이 되어 다시 만나랴> (1970), titled after a poem of his friend and Korean poet Kim Gwang-Seop (김광섭, 1905-1977). While the work resulted from years of experimentation with abstraction and the geometrical elements that make up painting–dot, line, and plane–, the subdued palette as well as the watered-down paint produced an effect of blurred ink, evocative of East Asian ink wash painting.[8]: 135–137  With Where, in What Form, Shall We Meet Again?, Kim was awarded the Grand Prize at the first iteration of the Korean Art Grand Award Exhibition.[19] Drastically different from Kim's work from Korea that depicted Korean motifs and sentiments, his purely abstract style left a great impression to the Korean art scene.[16]: 189 

Kim continued to produce "dot paintings" on larger-sized canvases and experimented with different colors, especially with range of blue hues.[8]: 142–147  By 1971, Kim took a turn on its composition by arranging the dots in a circular or curvilinear fashion, such as seen in Universe 05-IV-71 #200 (1971). Universe, which is regarded as one of the most important works of the artist's oeuvre today, was well-received in New York at the time.[20][21] The work was included in Kim's solo show at New York's Poindexter Gallery, where he continued to show annually, until his death in 1974.[22]: 11 


During his career in New York, works depicting cosmic, planetary subjects, sound, echo, and music arose.[12] In the second half of his time in New York, Kim spent much time on collages, papier-mâché works, and oil-on-newspaper paintings. It was during this time that Kim began to utilize dots in his works, sometimes even covering whole canvases with just dots, such as in Where and in What Form Are We to Meet Again? (1970) and 05-IV-71 #200 (Universe) (1971). The latter was sold for HK$102m (US$13.03m), surpassing its estimate of HK$48m-62m, and became the most expensive Korean work of art.[23]


See also



Exhibitions


Selected Posthumous Exhibitions





References


  1. Kim, Youngna. 20th Century Korean Art. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 1998.
  2. Kim Whan-ki, Christie's auction house (further lots of Kim's work listed).
  3. Lee Gyuhyun, 안녕하세요 예술가씨, Hello Mr.Ms. Artist., p.258, 2010.
  4. Yi, Ch'ung-nyŏl. Kim Hwan-gi, ŏdisŏ muŏt i toeŏ tasi mannarya [김환기, 어디서 무엇 이 되어 다시 만나랴]. Kyŏnggi-do P'aju-si : Yurich'ang, 2013. OCLC 854980601.
  5. Jung, Hyung-Mo (January 31, 2015). "멋진 의자 '득템'하면 행복 좋은 디자인엔 설렘이 있어" (in Korean). JoongAng Sunday.
  6. "빅뱅 탑, '외할아버지의 외삼촌' 김환기 화백 '우주' 132억 낙찰에 "자랑스럽다"" (in Korean). StarNews. November 24, 2019.
  7. Whanki Museum. "KIM Whanki 1913–1974." http://whankimuseum.org/en/kim-whanki/artist/
  8. Kwon, Heangga, Jeong Insook. "Chakp'umsegye [The Artist's Oeuvre]." In Kim Whan-ki [Kim Whanki], 50–173. Seoul: Samsung Culture Foundation, 1997. OCLC 41311030.
  9. Whanki Museum. "Tokyo: At the Forefront of the Avant-Garde Movement." In WhanKi: A Pioneer of Korean Modern Art, 18–29. Seoul: Whanki Museum, 2017.
  10. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. "백만회(白蠻會)." http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0071597
  11. "Kim Whanki — a pioneer of Korean abstraction". christies.com. October 30, 2019.
  12. Oh, Gwang-su. Kim Whanki. Seoul: Youl Hwa Dang Publishing, 1998.
  13. Han'gungmisul tagugŏ yongŏsajŏn [Korean Art Multilingual Dictionary]. "Shinsashilp'a [New Realism Group]." https://www.gokams.or.kr:442/visual-art/art-terms/glossary/group_view.asp?idx=291&page=1
  14. Park, Carey. "Korean Modern Art and the Conflicts of Tradition and Modernity, c.1953." In Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction, edited by Chung, Yeon Shim, Kimberly Chung, Sunjung Kim, and Keith B. Wagner, 14–39. London: Phaidon, 2020. ISBN 9780714878331. OCLC 1155063660.
  15. 왜 모두 달항아리에 푹 빠질까 Segye Ilbo
  16. Whanki Museum. "KIM Whanki, Reach to the Zenith of Abstract Art." In WhanKi: A Pioneer of Korean Modern Art, 142–221. Seoul: Whanki Museum, 2017. OCLC 1097193790.
  17. Kim Whanki, A Poem With a Picture. Chishik Company, 1977.
  18. Park, Mee-Jung. "Kimhwan'giŭi Nyuyokshigi (1963–1974) [Kim Whanki's New York Period (1963–1974)]." https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=3576118&cid=58862&categoryId=58879
  19. [Korean Art Multilingual Dictionary]. "Han'gungmisultaesangjŏn [The Korean Art Grand Award Exhibition].https://www.gokams.or.kr:442/visual-art/art-terms/glossary/art_view.asp?idx=877
  20. Wei, Shanshan. "An Enduring Friendship: The Legacy of Dr. Matthew Kim and Kim Whan-ki." 2019. https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6242546
  21. Song, Aeri. "Kim Whanki 김환기: Universe 05–IV–71 #200." 2020. https://www.galleryhyundai.com/story/view/20000000074
  22. Pyun, Kyunghee. "Civil Rights Movements for Minority Artists: A Note on the Archive of Korean-American Artists (AKAA)." In Shades of Time : an exhibition from the archive of Korean-American artists, Part two: 1989-2001. 11–22. ISBN 9780989037815.
  23. "Korean Wave in Saleroom: HK$102m Kim Whan-Ki's Diptych Becomes Most Expensive Korean Work of Art | Auctions News | THE VALUE | Art News". TheValue.com. Retrieved 2020-06-16.

На других языках

[de] Kim Whanki

Kim Whanki (koreanisch 김환기; * 27. Februar 1913 auf der Insel Anjwado im Landkreis Sinan-gun, der Provinz Jeollanam-do, Korea; † 25. Juli 1974 in New York City) war ein südkoreanischer Maler der abstrakten Kunstrichtung.
- [en] Whanki Kim

[fr] Kim Whanki

Kim Whanki (hangul : 김환기), né le 27 février 1913 à Anjwado – mort le 25 juillet 1974 à New York, est un peintre coréen.


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