To those for whom ink painting is a novelty, an exhibition of Korean and Chinese ink paintings may come across as an invigorating breath of fresh air. Some paintings may even evoke a meditative mood.
Instead of a canvas, ink painting uses `hwaseonji,` otherwise called Korean or Chinese paper - thin tissue-like paper with a soft, delicate surface which can easily be torn.
Instead of covering up empty spaces with color, ink painting leaves virgin white spaces as they are. This blank space constitutes part of the beauty of ink paintings, according to Chang Sang-eui, a Korean ink painter. Instead of different color oils, ink painting uses one solid black ink to portray everything, only changing the gradations to differentiate tones.
On the whole first floor of the Seoul Museum of Art, large scrolls of the `hwaseonji` hang from the wall with renderings of portraits, abstract concepts, lotus flowers, tear drops and landscapes.
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These are the works of 20 Chinese contemporary artists from Simcheong, the only city in the world that holds an international biennial for ink paintings.
On the second floor are the works of 20 contemporary Korean ink painters expressing time conceptions, philosophical meditations, and nature`s scenery on a wide, expansive scale.
`Sumukhwa,` or ink painting, has existed in Asia for thousands of years. Despite this long tradition, seven to eight out of 10 art exhibitions in Korea are of Western oil paintings, according to Suh se-ok, pioneer of the modernist movement for Korean ink paintings.
A rare opportunity to view the ink paintings by 40 Korean and Chinese contemporary artists, all in one place, is presented in the joint exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Art, which opened last Wednesday to run until Sept. 18.
"Korean and Chinese ink paintings are going through reinterpretation and transformation of its traditional style and aesthetics to fit today`s context, and this exhibition serves as an opportunity for the two countries` artists to learn from each other," said Ha Chong-hyun, director of the Seoul Museum of Art.
Korean ink painters offered their opinions on the comparison of Korean and Chinese ink paintings.
"The Chinese are more advanced in the method of using ink, but in terms of modernity, Korea is ahead of China. This is because China has experienced a longer repressive period of socialism," said Chang whose work titled "Flower Rain II" shows a phantasmal painting of large, imaginary flowers that rains down from the heavens.
"We should take note of the Chinese artists` innovative styles, as they are making rapid progress," added Chang.
Chang suggested that pieces like Chinese painter Wang Tiande`s "Chinese Fashion," a display of a white Chinese robe that is engraved with Chinese characters by a laser beam, shows the experimental and progressive side of the Chinese artists. Another Chinese artist to notice, she said, is Huang Yihan, who makes Korean boy band H.O.T. members a subject of his post-modernist paintings.
"A successful reinterpretation of the ink painting should constitute new expressive methods, new values and should provide a historical perspective," said Chang.
Suh Se-ok, leader of the modernist Korean ink-painting group called Mungnimhoe which defined abstract styles in ink painting in the 1960s, says that the pinnacle of beauty in artwork is simplicity. "Simplicity of color and form is the hardest thing to achieve in art, but it is the ultimate beauty of art," said Suh. His painting titled "People" is on display, an abstract rendering of people simplified to five lines of black ink.
Simplicity is a common thread in the ink paintings. Ink painting is deeply connected to the ancient Confucian philosophy of the Joseon Dynasty period which is identified as the beginning of the prevalence of ink paintings in Korea, according to Park Yong-sook, professor of Korean art. The first Korean ink painters traditionally attached spiritual meaning to the `hwaseonji` and `muk` (black ink) - the basic materials for ink painting - and have considered the act of painting with ink as an expression of `Gi` - nature`s energy, Park said.
"The beauty of ink painting is in the blank spaces and the different gradations of the ink that can express many emotions. The ink can be ruled by the hand," said Chang, the Korean ink painter. Controlling the gradation of the shades of the ink by the grip of the painter`s hand is a skill that requires discipline and spiritual focus, being one with `Gi.`
Ink paintings pursue what is spiritual and time-conceptual, according to experts in the field. Because ink painting is derived from such age-old aesthetic and philosophical elements, adapting the paintings to the contemporary period has been a challenge for ink painters.
In China, the repression of art in the socialist movement barred the creativity of artists until the 1980s, when the government`s more open policy allowed the artists` expression to shine through the paintings.
"From the displayed works, we can see that innovative methods of expression are emerging," Chang said.
The paintings also reveal the differing philosophies of each country; for example, "the Korean paintings are more adaptive to nature while Chinese paintings contain a more continental attitude to life," said Yoo Geun-taek, a Korean painter whose work titled "Gilbert and Grape" derives inspiration from the movie, "What`s Eating Gilbert Grape?"
"Korean ink paintings are clean and fulfilling, while Chinese ink paintings are more unified, and on a bolder scale," said Yoo.
Two of Yoo`s works are on display, both reinterpreted scenes from the movie, viewing a house ablaze with fire amidst abundant grape fields. "I wanted to show how a home can become both a resting place and constricting place at the same time," said Yoo.
The spiritual notions attached to traditional ink painting is coming down to earth as a part of the modernization process, according to Yoo. "The subject material for ink paintings is now becoming more an expression of one`s individuality, what I want to do, what I want to express. We need to get rid of notions that limit the subject matter for the paintings," said Yoo.
Whatever changes take place in the transformation of ink paintings, the unique qualities that characterize ink paintings will remain untouched.
"Western paintings are based on a flat surface, with a scientific and analytic beauty, while the Korean ink paintings encompass a feeling of space. Korean ink paintings are spatial and intuitive," said Yoo.
A stop in front of Moon Bong-sun`s "Meditation (River)" and "Solitude (River)" will be a convincing illustration of this point. These two pieces are expressions of a horizon with a blurry, subtle line of black ink upon a large white drawing paper. The aura of this piece - elusive, meditative and solitary - will give viewers the feeling that they are standing face-to-face with the horizon.
Park Byoung-choon`s "Landscape," covering a whole wall, is a painting of a huge mountain as a backdrop for a three-person family standing at the bottom of the mountain in colored clothes. The scene of miniature sized people against the wide backdrop of the mountain provides a window into perceiving the relationship between human beings and nature.
The Seoul Museum of Art is located at City Hall subway station, exit 1 for Line 1 and exit 11 for Line 2. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information visit http://seoulmoa.seoul.go.kr or call (02) 2124-8800.
(jkwon@heraldcorp.com)

By Kwon Ji-young