Invitation to atelier
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Artist Nam Kyung-min stands next to her painting “Jeong Sun’s Library — Enjoying Seclusion” (2014) during her exhibition at Savina Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul in December 2014. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
This is the seventh in a series of interviews with notable artists recommended by the Korean Artist Project, an online platform promoting Korean art. — ED.
By Kwon Mee-yoo
An artist's atelier is a private space. It is where they get inspiration and put life into their work.
Painter Nam Kyung-min visits studios of master artists from Vincent van Gogh and Johannes Vermeer to Kim Hong-do and Shin Yun-bok, and recreates them on her canvases, adorned with personal objects.
After graduating from the College of Fine Arts and Graduate School of Duksung Women's University, Nam's earliest works were abstracts, poles apart from her current major work.
A turtle-shaped seal of state described in “uigwe,” or royal protocol, during King Heonjong’s rule from a part of “Jeong Sun’s Library — Enjoying Seclusion”
"I was tired of the internal flow of abstract work and sought something more interesting. My room landscapes took inspiration from an illusion I saw outside the window of a school workroom. Instead of an ordinary lawn, a dreamy scenery of the moon and stars rose before my eyes," she said. "The fantasy soon disappeared, but I wanted to capture the atmosphere in my painting."
At first, Nam painted colorful rooms on the verge of surrealism, but soon her interest shifted to artists’ studios.
"One day, I returned to my atelier and felt my innermost thoughts were revealed through the space ― there were my paintings, favorite objects scattered around the room," she said. "My train of thought continued to famous artists’ ateliers. They display their artwork, but their work space usually lies behind the final product. I wondered what their cradle of creation was like as well as their innermost thoughts."
Buyongjeong pavilion in Changdeokgung Palace, located across “Gyujanggak” (royal library), was where King Jeongjo of Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) enjoyed fishing with courtiers.
That was where Nam's acclaimed atelier series began. She read the biographies of artists, explored their major works and discovered their cherished objects. "There isn't very much left about their studios. It rather stirred up my imagination, thinking of where my favorite artists Picasso, van Gogh and Magritte worked."
Nam's atelier series reinterprets the life of famed artists from Rembrandt and Vermeer to van Gogh and Cezanne. All rooms show the characteristics of its owner as well as the visitor ― Nam. All of these paintings have a chair in them, which represents Nam's persona.
She mainly paints on large canvases and it takes over two months to complete a painting. "I have to imagine, research and take photos of the landscape before making a rough sketch. It has to be in detail, and colors are designated before being transferred onto the canvas. However meticulous the sketch is, the result on canvas is not always as expected," the artist said. "Large works take a long time to complete, because it has to be a good composition and have meaningful details. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I’m done."
“Ganghwabu Gungjeondo,” a late 19th century painting of unknown authorship, depicts “Oegyujanggak,” an outer branch of the royal library.
Turning to Korea
At a recent solo exhibition at the Savina Museum of Contemporary Art titled "Staying in the Mindscape," Nam pushed back the frontiers of her material and paid a visit to well-known Korean traditional painters Kim Hong-do, Shin Yun-bok and Jeong Seon.
"I was inspired by Jeong's painting Taking a Rest after Reading Books and began wondering about what Korean artists’ ateliers were like. It urged me to embark on a journey to find my identity," Nam said. "I studied Western painting and art history and paint in oils. I thought Korean art was obsolete, but realized that my prejudice might be wrong. It made me conduct a study of renowned Korean artists."
Nam's surrealistic room landscape is full of whimsical details.
Nam Kyung-min’s 2012 oil painting “Chaekgado — An Illusion about the Sublime” / Courtesy of the artist
"An Invitation to N ― Walking in Kim Hongdo’s Atelier" was inspired by "Gunseondo," a Kim Hong-do folding screen featuring Daoist Immortals. "I was fascinated by his magnanimous and dynamic style when I saw it," she said.
Nam disassembled the folding screen into three parts to create an atelier where she communicates with the Joseon painter known for his genre paintings. She recreated the traditional ink-and-wash painting in oil paint with striking details. Art supplies such as brushes, inkstone, paper tube and furniture are all drawn accurately based on historical evidence.
"I communicate with these great artists in my painting, transcending time and space," Nam said.
Nam Kyung-min’s “Enjoying the Scenery in Seoan” (2014)
On the other side of the atelier, two oil paint brushes and a coffee pot are on a small desk, representing Nam’s space. Another object representing Nam's ideals is the wine in a bottle. "It symbolizes my dream and freedom as an artist."
Lilies, which represent the purity of Virgin Mary, are substitutes for her sincerity toward art, while a mirror is the artist's self-reflection. A skull on a traditional Korean desk looks unfamiliar, but Nam wanted to be reminded of mortality through the still-life object commonly used in the West.
Her paintings of the ateliers reveal each artist’s character with various objects. Nam saw femininity in Shin Yun-bok’s “Portrait of a Beauty” and reflected his delicateness in the painting, while Jeong Seon’s room was more contemplative with his signature landscape unfolding outside the window.
Nam Kyung-min’s “An Invitation to N — Walking in Kim Hongdo’s Atelier” (2014) Courtesy of the artist
"Chaekgado ― An Illusion about the Sublime" is a result of Nam's endless exploration of the artistic traits from the West and the East. The "Chaekgado" generally refers to a painting of scholar's accoutrements such as books and stationery, but for Nam, it is more of a museum of her favorite things from across the globe, which cannot coexist in reality.
"The scenery from the East and West are shown outside the left and right window, respectively. It is an imaginary landscape, but my ideal. A gold crown and a Buddhist statue from ancient Korea, a statue of Jesus on the cross, Rembrandt's candlestick, Vermeer's painting and a phonograph are all in this painting. These are symbols of sublimity in me," the artist explained.
While visiting famed artists' ateliers through her imagination, Nam has yet to paint her own atelier, where her inspiration blooms and takes shape. "I think I need more time to reveal my atelier on canvas," she said.
Her experiment will continue as Nam explores more ateliers based on her social and philosophical background. "The Western atelier series is my showpiece as well as the Korean artists' atelier paintings. I am still in a time of transition from the West to the East,” Nam said. “I will find my way following the golden mean ― my works are inspired by classics, but the modern objects placed in them are mine. I want to create a new world, combining two heterogeneous universes. Wouldn’t it be interesting if Korean-style landscape stretches outside a window of a fancy Baroque palace?”
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