South-Korea on the move

In the slipstream of the Olympic Winter Games, South-Korean artists caught my attention. I discovered that some works of Chun Kwang-Young (°1944) are exhibited (until 28.02.2018) in Museum de Reede, the newest museum of Antwerp. Because of the first intriguing acquaintance at Tefaf, I wanted to see more.

Aggregation 17 Chun Kwang-Young at Museum de Reede

Aggregation 17 Chun Kwang-Young at Museum de Reede

Again I was amazed about the patience Chun must have had to build up these sculptures with thousands of paper packets. Speaking of a mindful activity! Each little triangle is wrapped up in mulberry paper and tied up with a piece of paper or rope. Sometimes he uses pages from old books and hanji (traditional handmade paper of Korea), printed with Chinese or Korean characters.

Aggregation by Chung Kwang-Young at Museum de Reede

Aggregation Chun Kwang-Young at Museum de Reede

My personal favorite is the Star that looks like a moon landscape.

Aggregation 16 Chun Kwang-Young at Museum de Reede

More South-Korean Talent

Another South Korean artist with a lot of patience and craftmanship is Ilhwa Kim (°1967). I saw her work with the thousand seed units at Brafa. Nice works that are also recognized as investment.

Ilhwa Kim op Brafa

What is happening in South-Korea that many modern artists reach this level?  Is this the effect of art following the money? South-Korea and especially Seoul are on the financial move with a growing population of wealthy citizens. According to the Knight Frank Wealth Report edition 2017, the wealth population in Seoul is expected to grow with 40% in the following ten years. The luxury residential market benefited already with a price change of 16% in 2016! One of the side effects is that the art market can flourish.

Ilhwa Kim also works with paper and in that perspective could be an ideal candidate for an exhibition in Museum de Reede. The museum  has a permanent collection of works on paper, mainly of Goya, Munch and Rops. That in combination with a very friendly staff is certainly worth a visit!

2 comments