Kwon Jin Kyu Centennial: Angel of Atelier
In hopes of sharing the works of Kwon Jin Kyu, the family of the late artist and the Kwon Jin Kyu Commemoration Foundation donated 141 works of art by the artist to Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) in 2021. A wide range of works were donated, including sculptures, clay models, reliefs, drawings, and oil paintings. While the collection includes works from years spanning between the 1950s and 1970s, it is particularly meaningful due to a significant portion of it coming from the 1950s. To honor the wishes of the Commemoration Foundation and the Kwon family, and to celebrate the centennial anniversary of Kwon’s birth, SeMA presents the retrospective exhibition Angel of Atelier.
The title of the exhibition Angel of Atelier is borrowed from Kwon’s poem featured in Chosun Ilbo Daily on 3 March 1972, “Artistic reflections: Spring, singing of Spring while creating Angel of Atelier.” Laced with defiantly tragic undertones, the poem is charged with Kwon’s attitude toward his work, subjects, methods, pursuits, life regrets, and even faint hopes. An excerpt from his poem reads, “When covered with clay and fired, someone repents and is sublimated as an angel for whose existence I yearn.” Such “angel of atelier” Kwon mentioned likely refers to the pure ideals he sought to achieve in his works.
Tracing Kwon’s “artistic reflections” to find his “Angel of Atelier,” this exhibition goes back to his beginnings as an artist when Kwon joined the Seongbuk Painting Research Institute (1946 – 1950) in 1947. The exhibition also covers works since this period all the way until his death in May 1973. Based on Kwon’s poem and his lifelong commitment to Buddhism, the exhibition is organized into distinct periods of his life grouped as Wander forth (1947 - 1958), Self–Discipline (1959 - 1968), and State of Enlightenment (1969- 1973). Although Kwon committed himself in art just as a Buddhist monk leaves the secular world and renounces himself in a lifelong pursuit of spirituality, he despaired over the fact that he was not able to sell his works. This led Kwon to immerse himself further in Buddhism and eventually cut ties with the world. This exhibition hopes to shed a glimpse into such life Kwon led and works he created.
The exhibition space was designed based on the artist’s studio and his first solo exhibition held at The Press Center in 1965. Kwon’s works are displayed on large structures of cement blocks and red bricks which resemble a well and a kiln, situated on either sides of the exhibition space. Photographs of Kwon’s first solo exhibition indicate that his works were displayed on cement blocks and red bricks rather than on pedestals. Such method of display invites the audience to a deeper immersion into Kwon’s works, or the angels of his atelier, as they take a stroll throughout a space reflective of his studio.
While Kwon is generally renowned for his female busts including Bust Z (1967), he actually created a wide range of works including animal sculptures, female head busts and chest busts, female sculptures, self-portrait sculptures, reliefs, Buddha statues, masks, objects, roof charms, oil paintings, and drawings. Kwon referred to himself as more of an artisan than an artist, and placed great value in the cultural heritage of the countless nameless artisans from the past. As such, Kwon did not assign special hierarchy or order of importance between works based on the subjects or size. Kwon persistently strove for essence beyond the visible object, and to do so, he referred to the classical legacy of eastern and western culture. Through this, Kwon manifested eternity through a robust and concentrated form that was uniquely his own. This was also the reason why Kwon chose the archaic medium of terracotta (which does not rot) and lacquer, which is distinctively resistant to decay, humidity, and insects. The exhibition provides a site through which to closely examine Kwon’s perspective of eternity and the production processes of his terracotta and lacquer works that reflect the modernization of tradition, and hopes to enhance the viewers’ fundamental yet faithful understanding of the formation of Kwon’s unique oeuvre.
As Kwon proposed in his poem saying “history repeats the functional relationship of the power of truth,” the time has now come to take a fresh, unprejudiced look at his works in the contemporary art that places no constraints on figurative versus abstract art, materials, or technique.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to the KWON JINKYU FOUNDATION, the bereaved family, all organizations, and the private collectors who have supported this exhibition through loans.
Gana Foundation for Arts and Culture / KOREA UNIVERSITY MUSEUM / National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea / KWON JINKYU FOUNDATION / Kumsaem Foundation / SAMSUNG FOUNDATION OF CULTURE / Hansol Cultural Foundation / PKM Gallery
