Kwon finds inspiration in Oriental painting

By Kwon Mee-yoo

In front of Gallery Hyundai Gangnam Space in southern Seoul, a round-faced, smiley character on a flower-patterned box greets visitors. The simple yet playful face belongs to Dongguri, a signature character of Korean artist Kwon Ki-soo, who is holding a solo exhibition “Reflection: The mind is as bright and clean as a stainless mirror” at the gallery.

Some 40 pieces of Kwon’s work from paintings and sculptures to installations and videos are presented at “Reflection.”

A new series of paintings themed reflection are mostly on the first floor. The paintings might look similar to the artist’s previous works full of colorful flowers, bamboo trees, boxes and boats, but when looked at carefully, the viewer can see a reflected image of Dongguri and other objects on the lower part of the canvas.

Dongguri is a pared-down character with a round head, dot eyes and always smiling. The name Dongguri came from Korean word “donggeurami,” meaning round or circle shape.

Though the use of color and character might misrepresent Kwon as a pop artist, the artist clarifies that he is much influenced by Korean painting. Kwon earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in oriental painting at Hongik University.

Kwon, 39, said aging changed him and the transition is reflected in the works. “I started the series about a year and a half ago, but it got its way this year as I turned 40 in the Korean age counting system,” the artist said at the press preview of the exhibition Tuesday. “I was pointed and angular before, but such personality has changed and I seek a rather ‘round’ lifestyle and it was reflected in my works.”

Many of the new pieces are colored in pearly gold or silver. “I experimented with many colors and textures and found that these glittering colors are best for expressing reflections,” Kwon said. In addition to flowers and bamboo, rainbows became a new object in the new series. “In Korean traditional landscape paintings, an arch-shaped bridge connects this world and the world to come or utopia.”

“Time” is a 2008 work but Kwon wanted the piece on exhibit as it is significant to him.

“It was the beginning of a series of paintings with Dongguri in a boat, inspired by anglers living free from worldly cares,” he said. “It was featured in the Google Art Project in 2008 and the ‘Korean Eye’ exhibition at Saatchi Gallery in London in 2009.”

On the basement floor, a bunch of colorful Dongguri characters line up on the floor, hung on walls and even up on the ceiling in the work titled “Run Run Run.” The rubber Dongguri is in seven poses and five colors, some of them mixed to create a wittier mood.

“Landscape” is a new work which more clearly shows Kwon’s roots in Korean painting, while “Utopia” is Kwon’s translation of the 15th century artist An Gyeon’s “Mongyudowondo” (Dream of Paradise). “It might not immediately bring the image of Mongyudowondo as I totally disassembled the image and re-created my own utopia,” Kwon said.

“Untitled,” available both in painting and video, is quite different from other Dongguri series as the characters poke out their face from neatly stacked white cubes. However, for Kwon, it was still an extension of his previous works. “The cubes here are boxes appearing on my Dongguri series, seen from another side. I tried to express people’s tendency to have their own space and the sense of alienation from other people and it came out in a shape similar to apartment buildings,” he said.

The artist said Dongguri might represent ideal lifestyle of Koreans. “Since childhood, society asks us to live ‘round’ — getting along well with each other and being not picky or angular. Though I improvised the name, it reflects such an inclination of Koreans.”

The exhibition runs through Dec. 31 and admission is free.

For more information, visit www.galleryhyundai.com or call (02) 519-0800.