Nostalgia Today: Kim Dae-won, Ha Chul-kyung, Kim Young-sam

OPENING RECEPTION OCTOBER 5, 2003, 3-6PM

The Queens Museum of Art is pleased to present Nostalgia Today: Kim Dae-won, Ha Chul-kyung, Kim Young-sam, an exhibition of paintings by three of South Korea’s most important artists working from the traditional style of Korean ink painting. While many of the paintings and objects in the exhibition recall techniques, imagery, and concepts that have pervaded landscape painting in East Asia for centuries, as the title of the exhibition suggests, these artists inject modern values in works that preserve the traditional genre. For these artists, the notion of “nostalgia” and an attraction to the past does not connote our postmodern fondness for “kitsch.” Instead, the artist seek to reclaim a once-suppressed heritage through their artwork, experimenting with the tradition in which they have been trained to produce vivid landscapes that comment on today and times past. Nostalgia Today: Kim Dae-won, Ha Chul-kyung, Kim Young-sam will be on view in conjunction with an exhibition of works by fellow Korean artist Hong Sung-dam, as part of East Wind, co-organized by Gwangju Art Museum and the Queens Museum of Art.

One of Korea’s foremost artists working from the traditional ink painting style, Kim Dae-won is also perhaps the most unconventional. His free, gestural brushstrokes and use of strong color creates ecstatic images that are a long way from the idealized monochromatic nature studies of past generations. Adopting the iconography of folk art—its associations with shamanism, mountain spirits, and ceremony — Kim seeks to communicate with wider audiences about modern cultural notions through critique of communism and oppression in what appear to be a simple mountain vista.

Ha Chul-kyung’s years of apprenticeship have led to a new perspective on how the landscape could function in Korean culture. Working spontaneously and often in the open air, he focuses on the beauty of countryside, painting in a realistic style. By recording actual places, his works represent an attempt to preserve the natural beauty of Korea before it is gone.

Kim Young-sam’s work is invested in Korea’s post-war reclamation of history and culture, which was suppressed during the thirty-five year Japanese occupation of Korea. His works depict natural phenomena with a remarkable economy; he identifies and conveys emotions – such as longing, hope, or self-effacement – often with few compositional elements.

Exhibition co-curators: Jang Kyung-hwa, Chief Curator, Gwangju Art Museum and Tom Finkelpearl, Executive Director, Queens Museum of Art. This exhibition East Wind was co-organized by the Gwangju Art Museum and the Queens Museum of Art.

The presentation of East Wind at the Queens Museum of Art is made possible by Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Korea, Korean Cultural Service Korean Consulate General, Asiana Airlines, BooKook Foundation for Korean Culture, Gwangju Biennale Foundation, and The Centennial Committee of Korean Immigration to the United States.

A 150-page catalogue titled East Wind, published by the Gwangju Art Museum (2003) accompanies the exhibitions and is available in the museum shop.

Press Contact: Carolyn Bane, (718) 592-9700, ext. 147, cbane@queensmuseum.org