Finding modern art in an Expressionist’s journey

By Ines Min

Although emerging young artists have filled the exhibition calendars of most private and commercial galleries across Seoul, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Deoksugung, has been keeping a steadfast spotlight on historical art movements reminding art lovers of the road to today’s work.

The Albertina in Vienna has loaned 121 paintings, sculptures and drawings from their Batliner Collection for ``Picasso and Modern Art,’’ an exhibition that traces the growth of Expressionism through Edvard Munch’s bold strokes to Neo-expressionist George Baselitz, in Korea’s first introduction to the renowned Austrian collection. The movement, originating in Germany in the early 20th century, served as a cathartic artistic period and record of man’s tumultuous history marred by two world wars.

Other inclusions in the four-gallery show vary from Claude Monet’s Impressionism to Joan Miro’s surrealism, dating the exhibition’s earliest work to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s 1881 ``White Horse `Gazelle,’’’ (though the artist is best known for his provocative depictions of decadent salons), before culminating in the early 2000s with Baselitz.

While the content and title of the show seem at odds, it is exactly within this disparity that the aim of the exhibition comes forth: looking beyond the specified movement to the larger scale of expression during a time of prolific creative emergence ― condensed into major work by some of the last century’s greatest artists, helping develop modern art and Expressionism itself.

Starting from one of Claude Monet’s last paintings, ``The House Amidst the Roses’’ (1925), the first gallery pays homage to the fading of Impressionism and introduction of the next movement. Three pieces by Neo-impressionist Paul Signac can be seen before giving way to the short-lived Fauvism, and leaders Henri Matisse and Andre Derain’s bold primary colors brighten the pastel palettes.

Moving on in the timeline, Germany’s famous ``Die Brucke’’ (``The Bridge’’) Expressionist movement from Dresden known for their 15-minute nudes. ``That the artists of Die Brucke, who had actually set out to become architects, were self-taught as painters certainly lent this revolution a burst of acceleration,’’ said Klaus Albrecht Schroder, director of the Albertina, referring to the then-growing concept of rejecting nature as a model. Founding member Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is well-represented with his peers, along with their ideals Edvard Munch and Emile Nolde.

Though often overlooked, Orphism’s influence in the art scene is not forgotten in the exhibition. The small art force, headed by artist couple Sonia Terk and Robert Delaunay, saw the return of a wide use of bold paints in combination with the growing Cubism. Meanwhile, Russian avant-gardes were busy with their own contributions, and an untitled work by Wassily Kandinsky sees the first abstract work of the showcase ― part of the famous Blauer Reiter that sought to find a spiritual connection and truth within their art.

The conclusion brings forth the anticipated eight works by Picasso, including etchings, lithographs and paintings. ``The Frugal Meal’’ (1904) provides a startling, emaciated grayscale shock to viewers after the halls of full silhouettes, while ``Woman in a Green Hat’’ (1947) provides a point of comparison in the changes in style. Fellow contemporary Alberto Giacometti’s characteristically lean bronze sculptures and an oil on canvas ``Portrait of Annette’’ a macabre, textured portrayal, gives full context to each work and showing the polar extremes of the movement.

The exhibition ends with Baselitz’s ``Someone Painting My Portrait,’’ a large-scale, round-canvas. The artist, depicted in his emblematic, upside-down stance, wears a simple tank top and cap, seeming to shout an introduction to the following future of modern art after a century of influence and endeavor.

The Albertina houses one of the world’s largest print rooms and is known for its more than 1 million master prints. The Batliner Collection, donated to the museum in 2007 by Rita and Herbert Batliner, comprises more than 500 works by Rothko, Lichtenstein, Renoir and others.

``Picasso and Modern Art’’ is on display through March 1, 2011; general admission is 11,000 won. For more information, visit www.pam.chosun.com (Korean only) or call (02) 757-3002.