NATIONAL7Spotlight Weekly)]

Canvas Of Creativity

South Korean artists provide powerful portraits of their rich heritage

By KESHAB POUDEL

Art provides an important measure of the development and prosperity of a society. Although few people can fully fathom the true meaning expressed by artists, their creativity is based on the realities of their times. This, in turn, facilitates broader understanding of one country or culture in another.

With an aim to expand cultural relations between the two countries, artists from the Republic of Korea organized an exhibition of contemporary art at the auditorium of Nepal Association of Fine Art at Naxal. The show was a sequel to an event organized in the capital last June.

Korean art : Figurative description

"The efforts to expand the cultural relations between our two countries can bear fruitful results if art exhibitions like this are organized at short intervals," said Ryoo See-ya, ambassador of the Republic of Korea. "Also, such efforts will bring an end to the cultural disparities which exist among different segments of society and different regions of the country. Sound cultural development is fundamental to national prosperity and a higher quality of life."

Paintings and other works by 13 artists from the Republic of Korea were on display. Artists ó young and old ó depicted images and conveyed messages of various facets of Korean society. Some of the paintings were related to vastness of nature and expressions of its surroundings. In her painting "Open a Briefcase", done in lithograph on paper, Kang So-young brought out the inner feelings an artist carries.

In "Summer", Moon Bong-sun captures the mood of the season. Made on Chinese ink on paper, the painter carefully captures the time of year against the background of a river. Moon, a professor at the College of Fine Arts at Inchon Municipal University, has won several national awards. He has held seven solo exhibitions.

Using a mixed medium (leather bag, textile, and ruler) Nuri ventured to portray man in all his starkness. Nuri has participated in over 180 group exhibitions and has held nine solo shows around the world. He shows a keen understanding of the creative powers of nature and the human dimension that fits into it.

In "Nature", Suk Ran-hi tackles a subject that is at once mundane and complicated. Made in oil on canvas, Sukís painting elaborates on the splendor of nature and its surroundings in an abstract manner. She has held 25 solo exhibitions.

Painted in mixed media, Kim Kang-young's "Reality and Image" depicts the complexities of human society. Kim has exhibited his works in Europe, the United States and other parts of the world. Lee Suk-ju's "Lyric Scenery" portrays the nature within nature.

The works of Park Han-ryul, Chun Heung-soo, Yoon Jeong-seop, Jeong Deok-young and Kim Sum-soo went on to provide a wide-angle view of Korean society and its interaction with nature.

The show was organized by the Nepal Association of Fine Art, Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korea Foundation, and sponsored by the Korea Foundation. For Nepalese viewers, the event provided a special opportunity to become familiar with the creativity of Korean artists and the brilliance of their culture.