Surrealism and Korean Modern Art

Kim Ukkyu, Kim Chongnam (Manabe Hideo), Kim Chongha, Shin Youngheon, Kim Younghwan, Park Gwangho, and 43 other artists.

Surrealism and Korean Modern Art is the second exhibition in the series of “Rediscovery of Korean Modern Artists,” initiated in 2019 with the aim of restoring a richer art history by uncovering and shedding new light on artists who had been overlooked in twentieth-century history of Korean art. The exhibition introduces six unknown artists who showed “surrealistic qualities rare in Korean art scene.”

In the midst of the world’s indifference, these artists independently explored and perfected their own surrealist worlds. Their works, which cannot be defined in a single style, were regarded during their lifetimes as a kind of anachronism or mere imitation of the original, and were gradually forgotten after their death. Unlike André Breton and his colleagues who declared themselves bold avant-gardists breaking the old conventions and taboos that constrained the human spirit, these six artists had no central figure and never formed a collective voice. Rather than becoming followers of the period’s avant-garde, however, they chose instead to remain on the periphery, steadfastly following a solitary path that no one recognized. Such a path was made possible by their captivation with Surrealism, which awakens the timeless creative instinct of man.

Before fully introducing the six artists, the exhibition begins by examining how Surrealism was received and developed in Korea from the initial introduction of the term in the late 1920s to the early 1930s. “Existence Is Elsewhere” (Gallery 1), takes its title from the last sentence of the Manifesto of Surrealism (1924) by poet and art critic André Breton. The works presented here are those in which the surrealist legacy can be found even though the artists themselves were not consciously considering surrealism.

Then the show, from Galleries 2 to 4, turns its focus to the six artists.

Gallery 2 presents Kim Chongnam and Kim Ukkyu, who studied in Japan during the 1930s put them in direct contact with Japanese surrealism. Kim Chongnam (Manabe Hideo, 1914–1986), a native of Gyeongsangnam-do, who is more widely known under his Japanese name Manabe Hideo, lived and worked in Japan after graduating from Nihon Art School. In his works filled with camouflaged creatures, one can sense the deep anxiety of the artist who had to live as both Japanese and Korean. Kim Ukkyu (1911–1990), born in Hamgyeongnam-do (part of today’s North Korea), studied at the Kawabata School of Painting at Tokyo. His work is deeply imbued with the traumatic experience of separating from his family and hometown during the Korean War and relocated to South Korea.

Gallery 3 presents Kim Chongha and Park Gwangho, whose paintings are about intimate desires and erotic fantasies. Kim Chongha (1918–2011) who studied western-style painting at Teikoku Art School in Japan in his youth began exploring surrealism in earnest when he moved to France in 1956. He applied exquisite realistic techniques to create a sensual and mythical world. Park Gwangho (1932–2000) made series such as Tying, Home, Yin/Yang, Concave/Convex, and Group to show suppressed sexual or fetishistic desires with the images of Surrealistic objects.

Gallery 4 introduces Kim Younghwan and Shin Youngheon. They got inspiration from Giorgio de Chirico and Salvador Dalí. Both of the artists, however, developed unique surrealist world founded on Korean modern history as well as history of modern art. Born in Hamgyeongnam-do, Kim Younghwan (1928–2011) graduated from Hongik University and began his career by taking part in modern art movements characterized by opposition to the National Art Exhibition. He would soon distance himself from the art scene, and explore his own surrealistic world. Shin Youngheon (1923–1995), a native in Pyeongannam-do (also in North Korea), studied at Seoul National University. He used the double images to represent the landscapes of ruins suffering from war and division of nation, along with cities that had been dehumanized by capitalism.