The Oh Seung Woo Exhibition will be held in the Seoul Museum of Art (Director Yoo Hee Young) from April 23 to May 30. This exhibition was organized to commemorate the donation of his work by the renowned artist. The exhibition will highlight the broad range of his artwork from that of his early period to his most recent works. Born the son of the painter Oh Ji Ho – a pioneer of Western-style painting in Korea - Oh Seung Woo received special recognition in Korea’s National Art Exhibition at the age of 27. He went on to join the ranks of prominent recommended artists when he was 31. Since then Oh Seung Woo has left a prominent mark on Korean art. He was given the Seoul Culture Award and served as president of the Mokwoohoe Fine Arts Association.
In this collection, you will see paintings from each distinctive time period that focus on distinctive themes. Indeed, this artist liked to dwell on a single subject for a long time before moving on to the next one. For every subject that he chose to explore, he would dig deep into that subject. This enabled him to pursue his quest into the hidden cultural and spiritual contexts surrounding his chosen themes.
This exhibition will feature all of Oh Seung Woo’s 60 representative works. On show will be a series of paintings on the themes of ancient relics, a flower and girl, mountains, and the 10 traditional symbols of longevity. The exhibition, which also commemorates the donation of his work by the artist, will be a valuable opportunity to see first-hand the artist’s entire oeuvre, from his early works to his more current ones.
In the painter’s early years, he travelled around the country’s many Buddhist temples and chose images of Buddha and Buddhist scriptures as the subjects for his canvas. Many of his paintings from this period received special acclaim in the National Art Exhibition. His choice of subject was not only influenced by his family ancestry but can also be seen as his own personal journey in search of his roots. Later, in the 1960s, his paintings began to explore a fantasy world, far from reality, where flowers and girls became the center of his artistic world. In the 1980s, Oh Seung Woo travelled around the country’s mountains to put them on canvas. His work during this period expresses the inner most corners of his home country and reflects his awe for nature. In the 1990s, he traveled around neighboring countries, such as China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar, to transpose the energy of ancient relics onto his canvas using strong vivid colors and powerful strokes that were ‘like roaring flames’. The fascination he had for fantasy during the 1960s returned to him in his later years in the form of the 10 traditional symbols of longevity. Such recent work reveals a transfiguration of tradition and modernity into a new spirit of the times. Dwelling on a single subject for extended periods of time gave the artist the freedom to pursue his deep quest for the origins of culture. The artist also digs deep into his own personal roots from where he constructs his own unique artistic world.
Art critic Oh Gwang Soo points out that “the common thread in Oh Seung Woo’s artwork is nature and culture.” He adds that such themes of nature and culture are “part of a past heritage that is reborn in the context of our current times.” This in fact is a distinctive trait of Oh Seung Woo’s art. This exhibition covering the artist’s early to more recent work is a valuable opportunity to join the artist in his anthropological journey in the quest for the origins of culture.
▣ The Structure of the Exhibition
The Oh Seung Woo exhibition is divided into different time periods, each with its own distinctive theme. This exhibition will be an exciting opportunity to view his entire oeuvre and see how his interests and styles have evolved with each stage of his life.
1. Ancient Relics and Folk Culture of Korea
The work that won special recognition in the National Art Exhibition was painted in the artist’s early years, between 1957 and 1960, and dealt consistently with Buddhist scriptures and temples. His choice of subject matter can be interpreted as an exploration into the origins of culture rather than a simple expression of Buddhist faith. During this period, the artist reproduced images in a relatively realistic way, expressing cultural energy and cultural roots with distinctively bright and powerful colors. Through influence from his mother’s side, he traveled around the country’s many temples where he became mesmerized by Buddhist structures and images. This journey into cultural origins found its way back into his work in the 1980s in his choice of folk elements, such as traditional ox fights and mills, in his many paintings portraying the traditional life of common people.
2. Flower and Girl
In the 1960s, Oh Seung Woo gradually broke free from his realistic depictions of nature to explore the world of fantasy. After his series of paintings of relics, he went on to paint a series of works on fairies in a fantasy world that revolved around a flower and girl. The ‘Flower and Girl’ series was mainly painted in the 1960s. Compared to the ‘Relics’ series, which employed a strong and clear color contrast, the ‘Flower and Girl’ series gradually incorporates white for a softer use of color. His dream-like portrayal of plants, animals, and people set against a mystical background seems to have led naturally to his next theme – the 10 traditional symbols of longevity. In the ‘Flower and Girl’ series, Oh removes all concrete forms from the background, which is depicted as pure color, to strengthen the image of the fantasy world.
3. Korea’s 100 Mountains
The ‘Korea’s 100 Mountains’ series was painted in the 1980s. In this series, Oh Seung Woo not only painted mountains, but impressively portrayed the inner most part of his homeland. Mountains are not subjects in themselves. Rather, in Oh’s paintings, they are there to express the energy of the territory. The artist rendered 130 mountains on canvas, including the famous Baekdu Mountain, Sorak Mountain, Jiri Mountain, and Halla Mountain. Oh guides you to the inner most flesh of the mountains, rather than just focusing on a three-dimensional contrast of distance. Thus, his mountains are actually symbolic mountains growing in the wilderness of his imagination.
4. Original Forms of the East
The ‘Original Forms from the East’ series was mostly painted in the 1990s. In this series of work, we see a rampant use of flaming colors. Always in the center of a painting is a temple or a palace. The artist portrays centers of civilization and history in their most glorious forms. He traces the centers of civilization not only in China but also in the surrounding Eastern countries to express the splendor of Eastern culture. Temples and palaces are valuable in understanding Eastern civilization as the former is the center of spiritual and cultural life and the latter the center of secular power. The artist’s explorations into the temples, relics, and towers of India, China, Dunhuang, Japan, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal, Tibet, Indonesia, and Malaysia are energetically reflected in his paintings.
5. 10 Traditional Symbols of Longevity
Oh Seung Woo began work on the ‘10 Traditional Symbols of Longevity’ series in the new millennium. Unlike his past ‘Korea’s 100 Mountains’ and ‘Original Forms from the East’ series, which culminated from his traveling to the places he painted, this final series relied more on the imagination. The ‘10 Traditional Symbols of Longevity’ series reflects the age-old ideals of Eastern civilization’s utopia. In that respect, the subject of this series is quite abstract compared to mountains or ancient relics. Nevertheless, the ‘10 Traditional Symbols of Longevity’ series reflects the yearnings of civilization. These longings have had a great influence on the spiritual and cultural life of Eastern civilization. They are common to people of all social status and, because of their powerful symbolism, are beloved by everyone. The ‘10 Traditional Symbols of Longevity’ series deals with concrete and tangible things, such as nature and living creatures, but paradoxically, become abstract as they are combined with the world of the imagination. The 10 Traditional Symbols of Longevity are actually traditional symbols, but as they reach the canvas of the artist, a new uniqueness is brought to the theme. The artist does not simply derive artistic themes from ancient relics but goes on to set the values reflected in these themes in a modern day context. This is an ideal way of passing on traditions. Oh Seung Woo’s art can be seen as a journey in pursuit of these values.
Related Events and Schedule
The opening ceremony of the exhibition will be held in the lobby of the Seoul Museum of Art, on April 22 (Thursday), at 5 PM. During the entire exhibition period, there a lecture will be held every day at 1PM to explain the artist’s work. Also open to the public is the ‘Museum Date with Oh Seung Woo’, which will feature an overview of the museum, ‘Curator Gallery Talk’, and much more, on April 28 (Wednesday), May 12 (Wednesday), May 19 (Wednesday), and May 26(Wednesday). A Free audio guide ‘Journey with the Artist’ will also be available to visitors. The audio guide will include commentaries on individual art works, artist’s notes and memoirs. The exhibition will be a special opportunity to view Oh Seung Woo’s full oeuvre and to commemorate his donation of such.
