Landscapes, Cityscapes Fascinate Park Yong-in
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Most people take snapshots during their trips abroad, but acclaimed artist Park Yong-in takes out his paintbrush and recreates the beautiful landscapes and cityscapes on canvas.
His highly colorful paintings are not focused on well-known places in Paris, Amsterdam, Switzerland, China, Vietnam and Korea, but more on the quaint back streets and lush countryside not often seen by tourists.
``When I see the scenery, I don't just paint it. I think about how to recreate it and make it abstract. I put a lot of my thoughts and feelings into it. I don't just describe the scenery, but I make it from my own point of view,'' he told The Korea Times, at the Millennium Seoul Hilton. Sixty of his works are currently on display at the lower lobby of the Millennium Seoul Hilton, Namsan.
The 63-year old artist has been painting for more than 40 years now. He graduated from Hongik University and also studied at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, France. In Korea, he started out by painting portraits of women, but when he arrived in Paris, he found it difficult to find models, so he began to paint landscapes and cityscapes instead.
``I was inspired by the old architecture and buildings in Europe. That's why I painted a lot of cityscapes. I also saw beautiful mountains. I was inspired by all the beautiful nature, after seeing the majestic mountains and lush forests,'' Park said.
Park loves traveling around the world, and goes to Europe at least once a year to revisit his favorite cities. When traveling through Europe, Park is constantly amazed at how European cities have preserved the lovely architecture of its buildings.
``When I go on a European tour by train, I look outside the windows and I notice that you can distinguish one country from another by looking at the buildings. It is not like Korea where you see all these concrete buildings all the time,'' he said.
Park had previously made paintings of traditional Korean houses and buildings, but he laments that these have practically disappeared due to rapid industrialization. ``Everything has become concrete and I lost interest in these kinds of things. So I tried to find new places, with mountains and a lot of forests, where there are no people… Korea has become too commercialized and industrialized that it looks like any other country,'' he said.
This is the first time Park is having an exhibit with his son and sculptor Park Gun-won. The 39-year old Park is a graduate of Hongik University, and has studied in Italy and Germany.
While growing up, he was keen on following in the footsteps of his father as a painter. ``I became interested in art because of my father. I would see his paintings, and I wanted to become an artist,'' he said. As a sculptor, the younger Park creates abstract pieces featuring heads and torsos.
When asked if he gives any advice to his son, the elder Park said he doesn't interfere with his son's work, and wants him to follow his own style.
The exhibition will run through March 31. The Millennium Seoul Hilton had previously hosted an exhibition of Korean celebrity Cho Young-nam's artworks and a collection of exclusive limited edition replicas of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings. For inquiries, call (02) 317-3362.