Breathing Modern Spirit into Tradition

A new wind characterized by Fauvism and Expressionism began to blow in the Korean art world in the 1930s. Buoyed by the new trend, a young painter sought to stay away from the four gracious plants, which were traditionally an important subject for painting, and struggled to breathe modern spirit into his work instead. The artist is Yi Eung-no, who is known as his penname Goam(고암). He built his own distinctive world of art and broke new ground in the history of Korean art.


Young Man Embroiders Bamboo Trees on Rice Paper

Born in 1904 in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province, Yi Eung-no moved up to Seoul at the age of 19 to realize his dream of becoming a painter. He learned literati painting and calligraphy from famed calligrapher Kim Gyu-jin(김규진). Yi began to walk the path of an artist in 1924 when his work “Clear Bamboo” was accepted for the third Joseon Art Exhibition. He earned fame as an artist of bamboo painting, as his works featuring ink wash painting were selected for a number of exhibitions. His teacher Kim gave him a penname “Juksa(죽사),” meaning “bamboo history.”

Yi departed from the long tradition of drawing four gracious plants, which were plum trees, orchids, chrysanthemums and bamboo, but explored the subjects of painting in light of realism. Amid the turmoil of the Korean War in the early 1950s, he suffered a personal tragedy. His works such as “Refuge”(1950), “Rehabilitation”(1954), “Yo Ho, Yo Ho”(1955) and “Rampancy”(1956) strongly appeal to people for their vivid descriptions of post-war chaos and strenuous rehabilitation efforts.


Portraying Nature, People with Various Drawing Techniques

Yi left for Paris, France in 1958 when he was 55 years old. Influenced by abstractionism that swept Europe at the time, he tried out new and various drawing techniques. He used waste paper as well as rice paper he had brought from Seoul to experiment in collage art. Regardless of the material, he created experimental art forms on it. He was bold enough to move beyond the bounds of traditional ink and wash painting and add a new color to Indian ink. His works won international attention and recognition for representing the spirit of Oriental art and creating implicit art forms.

In 1962, Yi held his first private exhibition at Galerie Paul Facchetti, an avant-garde gallery that led the “Informel” movement in the Paris art community at the time. His completely abstract paintings featuring the collage technique were favorably received. He exhibited his works at the Salon d`Automne in 1963 to make a name for himself in the European art world.

In 1964, Yi established an Oriental art institute at Musee Cernuschi, an art museum in Paris, to teach calligraphy and the four gracious plants to many Europeans. The following year, he won the honorary grand prize at the 8th São Paulo international biennale to draw global attention. His works were soon invited to numerous galleries and art museums in Paris, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark for exhibition.

Yi sought to express nature and the vigorous movements of people through a variety of drawing techniques. But he dedicated his last ten years of his life solely to painting people. After the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement, Yi shifted his focus to a large group of people. He drew nameless people mingling and dancing together to illustrate peace and harmony, hoping for an ideal world where all people become one. His later works, namely, the “crowd” series represent his view of art that he had shaped throughout his life, which coincided with the turbulent history of modern Korea as seen in the Korean War, the national division and political confusion. The works were also the artistic products symbolizing the agony and exploration of this artist who believed that his paintings should reflect the times in which he lived.

Yi held his last private exhibition in Tokyo, Japan in 1985. Unfortunately, while preparing for an exhibition marking his return to Korea in Paris in 1989, he died of a heart attack. He was buried at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris where great artists were laid to rest.


Breaking New Ground in the History of Korean Art

Yi pursued a new world, transcending the boundaries of the East and the West. The painter discovered modern sensibilities in the traditional brush and ink of Eastern painting and breathed new life into them. He combined tradition with modernism in his unique art realm to open a new prospect in the history of Korean art. Today, world-renowned museums, including the National Museum of Decorative Arts in France and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, possess the acclaimed works of the Korean artist. His challenging spirit and enthusiasm that he portrayed in his paintings all his life have been embodied as a “future value” to impress the people the world over.