Kim Myung-Sik Exhibition

March 14 (Sun) – March 28 (Sun), 2010

10:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Closed on: Wednesday, March 10 and Wednesday, March 17
Exhibited Works:
Over 20 oil paintings, primarily from the East Side Story series, along with works from the Pop Flower series.

Kim Myung-Sik Solo Exhibition

Artland Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in Kagawa by Korean artist Kim Myung-Sik, who is active in both Seoul and New York.

Born in Seoul, Korea in 1950, Kim studied painting at the College of Fine Arts and Graduate School of Chung-Ang University. He is currently a professor in the Department of Fine Arts at Dong-A University. Kim has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Korea and abroad. In recent years, his solo exhibitions have included shows at Impression Gallery (Hangzhou, 2006), PS35 Gallery (New York, 2007), and Lanly Gallery (Shanghai, 2008). His group exhibitions include shows at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Korea, 1992) and Art Off The Main at Puck Building (USA, 2005).

The origin of Kim’s artistic practice lies in the memory of a small town called Godeok-ri, where he was born and spent his childhood. The town disappeared without a trace in the wave of modernization. His Godeok-ri series, which he worked on until the 1990s, is filled with a deep nostalgia for his lost hometown and the tender memories of his early years. In works such as Godeok-ri 1994-02, elements like mountains, rivers, trees, and flowers are abstracted and simplified with freedom and boldness, detached from their original forms and proportions. Rendered with a childlike, expressive touch, the paintings feature a blend of heavy, somber tones—blues, grays, and blacks—and light, cheerful colors—reds, yellows, and greens—bringing the canvas to life with vibrant energy.
The Godeok-ri series reflects a poignant reality—the inner conflict of people torn between the comforts and conveniences of modern urban life and the emotional solace and familiarity of their rural roots.

After working on the Godeok-ri theme for over a decade, Kim shifted direction in the 2000s, establishing a studio in New York and beginning a new series titled East Side Story. The inspiration came in the winter of 1999, when Kim was sitting in a café in Soho. Observing people of different races—white, black, and Asian—passing by the window, along with distant houses seen through the windows of New York's subway trains, sparked the concept of combining “people and houses” into a new theme.

The East Side Story oil paintings featured in this exhibition follow a composition in which house motifs are placed against flat, empty backgrounds. This blank space is similar to the concept of “yohaku”, or “emptiness,” often seen in East Asian art. Kim explores this space as a new mode of expression.

In 09-SM11, several houses with toy-like black roofs and white, red, green, and black walls are painted with rough brushstrokes. Their colors blend into the background’s gray tones, creating the impression that the houses are dissolving into the space. While the theme of racial coexistence lies at the heart of this work, the “blank” space is not simply emptiness—it suggests the lives of people in the city, and urban landscapes filled with high-rise buildings, veiled in a kind of fog.

In contrast, 09-SM12 (featured on the exhibition postcard) employs more restrained color. Blue-toned houses with black roofs appear against a soft gray background, creating a unified and calm atmosphere. The use of aerial perspective—where distant objects appear bluer—suggests a shift in theme. While East Side Story originally centered on racial coexistence, the focus here seems to return to a more personal and intimate narrative. The houses appear to have drifted far from the physical city of New York and instead evoke Kim’s memories of Godeok-ri. The blank space now seems to contain time and culture, resonating with an ancient sense of ancestral memory and the “echo of the soul.” One might say that, through this space, Kim has rediscovered a powerful expression of ethnic spirit and memory.

This exhibition features over 20 recent oil paintings, primarily from the East Side Story series, along with works from the Pop Flower series, which depicts the quiet dignity and vitality of nameless wildflowers. On the opening day, Sunday, March 14, at 2:00 PM, we will also host a special artist talk and a presentation on Korean food culture.

We hope this exhibition will serve as a small bridge of cultural exchange in East Asia through the work of a Korean artist. We cordially invite you to view the show.
Following this exhibition in Kagawa, solo exhibitions are planned in Tokyo, Osaka, and six other locations across Japan.

■ Artist Talk

Date & Time: Sunday, March 14, from 2:00 PM
Speaker: Kim Myung-Sik
Admission: Free of charge

A special lecture on Korean culture with a focus on food culture, followed by an informal talk session with complimentary drinks.