Kim Heungsou (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 김흥수;

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: 金興洙; November 17, 1919 – June 9, 2014) was a Korean painter who was sometimes called the "Picasso of Korea". Jang soo hyun, his partner and executive curator of Kim Heungsou museum died of

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

in November 2012.

Biography

Born in

Hamheung Hamhŭng (''Hamhŭng-si''; ) is North Korea's second-largest city, and the capital of South Hamgyŏng Province. It has an estimated population of 768,551. Located in the southern part of the South Hamgyong province, Hamhung is the main and most p ...

Korea under Japanese rule Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offic ...

, he graduated from Tokyo Art school (東京美術學校). After the independence of the Korean Peninsula, he sat as deputy of Seoul Art high school and lecturer in

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

. In 1955, he studied painting in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and his works were submitted to

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The ...

. Thereafter, he initiated an individual art showcase and held exhibitions several times, starting from Paris, gained access to the European market. He held exhibitions around the world, including in France and Russia. His works have been featured at international auctions. After coming back to Seoul, Heungsou was appointed to the panel of judges for the 10th Korea grand art convention and presented his works in 1961. Six years later, he went as an exchange professor to Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1968 to 1980, which allowed him to release his pieces of sculpture, holding series of travelling exhibitions from coast to coast. American-Korean foundation served his work from the beginning.음과 양의 조화 하모니즘 창시자 김흥수 화백
/ref> Heungsou died on 9 June 2014 at the age of 94.

Works

Heungsou's works largest body of work is the so-called harmonism paintings, collaborating structures and abstract forms in a piece of art work. The genesis for his idea came from the harmony of yin and yang, between female and male and between the east and the west. According to an interview with Ftnews Korea, he was enormously influenced by the idea of

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

mixing the philosophy of the east and the west, invited by

Pushkin Museum The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (russian: Музей изобразительных искусств имени А. С. Пушкина, abbreviated as ) is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just oppo ...

. After studying

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

, he became more immersed in paintings. In 1960, he could sell out all his works entered into the exhibition in Paris and later gained the title of salon, which he said Japanese counterpart had never achieved the registration as a member at the moment. His works have roots in Harmonism, which is derived from the mixture of abstract paintings and forms/structures. In 1967, he observed the flow of American abstract paintings, which enabled him to try new challenges such as harmonizing abstract paintings with other forms. Rooted in

Mozaic Mozaic is a two-player abstract strategy board game, in which players try to score points by placing colored glass gemstones onto a game board to form square patterns. The game was designed by Martin H. Samuel. It was originally produced by ...

, he realized the partition of hues within his works, which featured in Korean customs and arts with erotic subject matters. His works are departed from his philosophy originated from Korean peninsula. In this sense, his drawings are famous for its fabulous collaboration of hues and shapes. Korean media coverage says that 2010 exhibition in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

was the last chance to watch his creative arts work, owing to his deteriorized health but he continued to appear in exhibition: as a displaced citizen born in what would become

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

, he presented his work called ''Lost Hometown'' (

, 망향) commemorating the twentieth year of the joint entry of the two Koreas into the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, held in the art hall of the

National Assembly of South Korea The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the unicameral national legislature of South Korea. Elections to the National Assembly are held every four years. T ...

.김흥수 화백의 작품, '망향(고향바다)'
Newsis 2011-12-01

References

External links

두산백과(Doosan Encyclopedia) - 김흥수 (Kim Heungsou)

두산백과(Doosan Encyclopedia) - 김흥수 미술관 (Kim Heungsoo art museum)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heungsou, Kim 1919 births 2014 deaths 20th-century South Korean painters Zainichi Korean people 21st-century painters People from Hamhung Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts faculty South Korean people of North Korean origin

Biography

Works

See also

References

External links