Park Bul-dong (b. 1956) graduated from the Department of Painting at the Hongik University College of Fine Arts in 1984. His solo exhibitions have included “Look in the Eyes” at Kwanhoon Gallery in 1985; “Resolute Opposition” at Geurimmadang Min in 1989; “Confession on Disability in Carnal Desire” at Kumho Museum of Art in 1992; “Anti-metaphysical Evil” at Kwanhoon Gallery in 2011; and “Park Bul-dong: 1985-2006” at Gallery 175 in 2016. He has participated in a number of group exhibitions including “Independants” at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, currently MMCA in 1983; “Korean Art: Power of the 20s” at the Arab Cultural Center, in 1985; “The 5th Havana Biennial” at Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Cuba, in 1994; and “A Road with You” at Gana Art Center in 2014. He has also participated in the activities of the Korean People's Artists Association and the art group Reality and Utterance. Most recently, he was appointed chairperson of the Korean People Artist Federation in 2018.
Park Bul-dong is an artist who turned his attention away from art circles and toward reality, rather than the inner practice of art. He was also once an active member of the artists group Reality and Utterance, which advocated for art that communicates with the public and reflects reality. Park cut out photo images from 1980s printed media before attaching and reconstructing them to create photo collages, also presenting conceptual performances and objet works to satirize the politics and social realities of the time. With mass media
including the newspaper Hankyoreh (1991) and the newsmagazine News Plus: Park Bul-dong’s Image Focus (1996-1998) as well as art exhibitions, Park has actively sought to engage with the public on social issues. His works have placed emphasis on contemporary communication and a sense of realism in art. After the 1990s, Park began to present works expressing the ugly desire of humans to pursue their own interests amid the prevalent materialism and consumerism brought on by the spread of capitalist economies. Since the 2000s, he has utilized digital cameras and computers to create images, and has introduced objet and painting, which had previously occupied less of his attention, to create self-portraits reflecting the contradictions of the era and the ego within a confusing social reality.
