By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Jeju island is often considered Korea's tropical paradise. The island is blessed with a relatively temperate climate, stunning landscapes and beaches. The slow, laidback rural atmosphere in Jeju is vastly different from Seoul's fast-paced lifestyle.
Artist Lee Wal-chong moved to Jeju island in 1991, which not only changed his lifestyle but also his artistic perspective. He has chosen to depict scenes of everyday life on Jeju in his paintings, wood works and ceramic sculptures.
The 63-year old artist is holding a solo exhibition ``Golden Mean of Jeju Living'' at Gallery Hyundai Gangnam Space, through Nov. 5.
On Lee's canvas, flying fish, colorful blossoms, people, houses and cars are floating in the dream-like space. He uses pastel colors that are fresh and lively, conveying a sense of cheerfulness to the viewer.
``No matter how trifle a life form, every form of life has an existential value in my paintings, which makes them free. A human can become a bird, just as a bird can become a human and a flower. My paintings capture the imagined world of interdependent co-existence. What use do formal constraints have? I wish to freely traverse flat planes and dimensional forms,'' Lee once said.
In the exhibition essay, art critic Choi Byung-sik said since Lee moved to Jeju, ``his work has been characterized by the sheer steadiness of his quest to enter his art on the portrayal of the paradise (Jeju).''
``Lee is intent on portraying the day-to-day reality of the surroundings around him. He created a genre virtually of his own with his `golf course' paintings, which form the majority of his works. He finds his subjects in everyday elements such as stone walls, the sea, the islands, golfers, ponds, chickens, fish, flowers, birds and persimmon trees. Lee's Paradise features daily life scenes and the most Jeju-ian elements, with the equal line of creation running through them,'' Choi said.
Lee is fond of using golf as a running theme in his works, since Jeju island is home to several golf courses. His paintings show people holding golf clubs or putting around on the green.
Lee uses a variety of materials such as Korean rice paper, ceramics and traditional wrapping cloth or bojagi in his works. He also created three-dimensional wood works where he carved images of people and animals amid ``arabesque-like floral patterns,'' and ceramic incense burners, jars and plates decorated with his unique images.
Lee, who was born in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi province, has had numerous solo exhibitions in Seoul, Jeju and Tokyo.
The gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit www.galleryhyundai.com or call (02) 519-0880.