Expositions à venir
In March 1960, an exhibition was hosted at the Galerie Cercle Volney in Paris featuring the artworks of nine Korean artists—including Lee Ungno, Rhee Seundja, Kwon Okyeon, Kim Heungsu, Park Inkyung, and Jang Dugeon—all of whom had moved to France in the 1950s. From 1958 to 1961 only about 160 to 170 Koreans lived in Paris, 75 percent of whom were students studying abroad, making the population of Korean artists living in Paris even smaller. In addition to showcasing the artistic accomplishments of the Korean community, who were in the small minority, the 1960 exhibition at Galerie Cercle Volney also celebrated the works of the “Ecole de Paris,” a group of artists who interacted closely with one another.
The Lee Ungno & Rhee Seundja exhibition explores the creations of the two artists from the perspective of their working relationship. It also explores the artistic strategies implemented by Korean artists in France, the use of traditional Korean motifs to reflect the identity of each individual artist, the culmination of Western abstractionism, and the impact of French art on contemporary Korean art. From among the artists living in France around the same time as Lee Ungno, Rhee was selected for inclusion in this exhibition for several key reasons.
Most of the Korean artists who relocated to France in the 1950s returned to Korea after a relatively short time living abroad. However, Rhee, who moved to Paris in 1951, and Lee, who moved to Paris in 1958, stayed in France and other places in Europe for prolonged periods of time, which allowed both artists to solidify their reputation in the Western art community. Rhee was also selected for this exhibition because she drew significant inspiration from the Bazaine group, a French school of art that prioritized tradition and nature, and because she played a key role in advancing the abstract landscape genre. Her landscape paintings from the late 1950s and her Woman and Earth series (1960s) have been praised for their sophisticated blend of Eastern perspectives on nature and Western art techniques. Lee’s career in the 1950s and 1960s followed a similar path, with abstract landscape paintings in the late 1950s, and Lee’s Abstract Letter series—which links nature, landscapes, and Chinese and Korean characters—in the 1960s. In other words, Lee’s and Rhee’s creations commonly express a desire to harmonize the East and West by blending traditional and modern and natural and artistic elements. Additionally, Rhee and Lee both held private exhibitions in France at around the same time, using these exhibitions to establish their own unique and modern artistic formats. Rhee’s private exhibition at Galerie Cavalero in Cannes in 1961, featuring her Woman and Earth paintings, and Lee’s 1962 exhibition held at Galerie Paul Facchetti in Paris in 1962, featuring his collages, both show how a new Korean style of abstractionism was born under the influence of French art. Rhee and Lee also jointly participated in the Bienal de São Paulo in 1975.
Through the creations of Lee Ungno and Rhee Seundja, both of whom developed unique artistic worlds by incorporating international trends with modern interpretations of Korean tradition, Lee Ungno & Rhee Seundja provides insights on the beliefs and ideas that characterized art in the latter half of the 20th century.
