“Monochrome Meditation” (1988) is one of Nam Kwan’s series of the same name produced in the mid- and late-1980s. This piece presents the essence of Nam’s letter abstract work as one of his signature styles. Splendid colors from his earlier works were eliminated and black and white tones, grids, and forms evoking hieroglyphs filled the canvas instead. Letter forms reminiscent of the human form are organized in a restrained manner, which is the consolidation of intellectual characteristics in Eastern culture based on Chinese characters and calligraphy, while containing the mystique of ancient culture.
Nam Kwan (1911-1990) went to Japan in 1925 and graduated from the Taiheiyo Art School, Tokyo, in 1935. He pursued his art in Japan before returning to Korea after liberation from Japan, later serving on the faculty of Sookmyung Women’s University and Hongik University. He was also a nominated artist for the National Art Exhibition of the Republic of Korea, and a judge for the Joseon Comprehensive Arts Exhibition. He founded and engaged in the activities of the Joseon Art and Culture Association together with Lee Quede, Lee In-sung, and Lee Gyu-sang. Nam went to Paris in 1954 to study art at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, and was later invited to the 1958, ’59, ’61, ’64, and ’66 Salon de Mai. In 1966, he won the first prize among renowned Western masters of painting at the Biennale de Peinture, Menton. After he returned to Korea in 1968, he served as a professor at Hongik University until 1977, and was a judge and committee member of the National Art Exhibition of the Republic of Korea. He was the recipient of the Korea Culture and Art Award in 1974 and the Korean Order of Cultural Merit in 1981.
Nam Kwan pioneered the development of the school of abstract painting in Korea during the period of transition from modern to contemporary art. His oeuvre can be divided largely into three phases: the first spans from his early days to right before leaving for Paris; the second refers to his time in Paris; and the third comes after he returned to Korea. In his early days, Nam Kwan’s works were affected by mixing trends from Japanese painting, which at that time accommodated Western influences including Fauvism and Cubism, and turned them into uniquely Japanese paintings. After Nam returned to Korea, he began to depict the tragic existence of humans through abstraction, which came as a result from his first-hand experience as a war correspondent painter. Yet his abstract works right before he left for Paris in 1954 were limited to cautious attempts. Nam began to explore the world of abstract art in earnest during his stay in Paris when the Art Informel pioneered by Michel Tapie was sweeping Parisian art circles and the emerging Ecole de Paris artists were actively pursuing their arts based on Salon de Mai. Amid such an atmosphere, Nam Kwan gained inspiration directly from the latest Western art trends of the time, while he brought back the horrible war experiences from his homeland to his canvas to create paintings that revealed the truth of the human mind. French art critics favorably reviewed his works, referring to them as a “fusion of the East and West,” which led to a number of achievements. Nam was invited to Salon de Mai, and later his works were included in the collection of the Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. After he returned to Korea in 1968, he further developed his abstract painting style based on the works created during his stay in Paris. Nam’s works produced during the last period present more splendid colors as well as repetitive forms reminiscent of masks and hieroglyphs set in an abstract space, evoking a sense of mystery.
