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| Exterior of Seoul Museum's new wing in Buam-dong, central Seoul / Courtesy of Seoul Museum |
Modern Korean masterpieces are on view at 'Walking Man' exhibition
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Seoul Museum in Buam-dong, north of downtown Seoul, opened a new wing celebrating its seventh anniversary and revealed masterpieces of Korean modern art from Kim Whan-ki and Lee U-fan at the inaugural exhibition.
Ahn Byung-gwang, CEO of Union Pharmacy and owner of the museum, took on the challenge of a new career by curating the "Walking Man" exhibit with artworks from the museum's collection. Seoul Museum's collection is based on the CEO's private collection, which began some 36 years ago when Ahn was a 26-year-old salesman inspired by Lee Jung-seob's "Bull."
The exhibition features works by Kim Whan-ki and Lee U-fan as well as paintings of Park Seo-bo, Chung Sang-hwa and Kim Tschang-yeul and white porcelain jars by master potter Kwon Young-bae, straight from the museum's treasure trove.
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| Kim Whan-ki's "Hundred Thousand Dots 04-VI-73 #316" is on view at the "Walking Man" exhibition at the Seoul Museum. / Courtesy of Seoul Museum |
The highlight of the exhibit is the "Hundred Thousand Dots 04-VI-73 #316" by Kim. For a better appreciation of the artwork, Ahn places a luxurious sofa in front of the painting, as if enjoying the contemplative blue painting in one's own living room.
"Just like Kim painted numerous dots in a meditative way, Seoul Museum is moving forward step by step to become a museum loved by everyone," Ahn told the press, Tuesday.
The Seoul Museum is also known for its Seokpajeong Villa, a well-built traditional Korean house that was once the home of Prince Regent Daewon-gun, the father of Joseon's 26th King Gojong. Ahn purchased the near-deserted house in 2006 and restored it, while building the museum next door.
Ahn is one of the rare art collectors in Korea who stepped up to establish a museum to share his collection, while most other collectors are shrouded in secrecy in Korea.
"Seokpajeong Villa was once a place of power and servility, where might outweighed logic. However, I want this place to become a place of sharing," Ahn said. "When I first opened this museum in 2012, most of the visitors were wealthy, elderly people of leisure. Now, we attract younger visitors to the museum, but I want to make this museum's threshold even lower."
Currently, the museum has about 150,000 visitors a year, but Ahn hopes to increase the number by organizing exhibitions suitable for the main building and the new wing.
Also featured at the new annex's opening exhibition is French-Japanese woodblock artist Paul Jacoulet. "Paul Jacoulet: Dasaek Joseon" showcases prints of Jacoulet who captured life in Asia through Japanese ukiyo-e style woodblock prints.
Jacoulet saw Korea from the perspective of a foreigner as the nation opened its doors and went through Western-style modernization. His prints portray the life of Korean commoners including a woman holding a baby, a man drying chili peppers and an old man sticking a long pipe in his mouth.
Visit seoulmuseum.org for more information.
