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Kim Byung-jong
Kim Byung-jong (Korean: 김병종; RR: Gim Byeongjong; born 1953), also known by his art name Dan-A (Korean: 단아; RR: Dana), is a South Korean representative painter, known for his unique painting style that encompasses the East and the West, the traditional and the modern. Education
Life and workKim is well known for his unique painting style that encompasses the East and the West, the traditional and the modern.[1] Born in 1953 in Namwon, Jeollabuk-do, Kim was admitted to the Department of Painting at College of Fine Arts, Seoul National University where he also received his master's degree. He received the Presidential Award at the National University Art Exhibition in 1979, making his debut with awards in both the fields of art criticism and playwriting at the Annual Spring Literati Contests at The Dong-A Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo daily newspapers in 1980. He began teaching at his alma mater in 1983, and was appointed as Professor in 1985. In 2001, he received his Ph.D. in Oriental Philosophy at Sungkyunkwan University. In the same year, he was appointed as Dean of College of Fine Arts at Seoul National University, and in 2002 and 2003 as Director of the Seoul National University Visual Arts Institute and Seoul National University Museum of Art, respectively. In 2018, at the retirement ceremony of Seoul National University where he held tenure for 36 years, he delivered a representative speech among 46 retiring professors, which was exceptional for a professor in the college of arts. Currently he is emeritus professor at Seoul National University and Gachon University. His major exhibitions include The Scattering Pine Pollen (Gana Art Center, 2019), From Jesus the Fool to Song of Life (Seoul National University Museum of Art, 2018), 生命之歌 Song of Life (Beijing Today Art Museum, 2015), 30 Years of Kim Byung-Jong–Drawing Life (Jeonbuk Museum of Art, 2014), and he has held more than 20 solo exhibitions in Seoul, Beijing, Paris, Chicago, Brussels, Basel, Tokyo and Berlin. He has participated in leading domestic and international art fairs including the Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain, Art Basel, Gwangju Biennale, Beijing International Art Biennale and Triennale-India. He has received art awards including AnGyeon Art and Culture Grand Prize, the Proud Jeonbuk People Prize, the Green Order of Merit for Diligence and the National Order of Korean Culture. His published books include Journey with the Painting Book 1-4 (Munhakdongne, 2014), and Chinese Painting Study (Seoul National University Press, 1997). His works are in the collections of the British Museum, London; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea; Seoul Museum of Art and the Blue House, South Korea. In March 2018, Namwon Byung-Jong Kim Art Museum opened in Namwon, Jeollabuk-do.[2] It is widely known[by whom?] that Kim conveys the unique spirit of Korean painting and national consciousness, yet deploys modern expression that spans across media, thus leading the modernization and globalization of Korean paintings.[3] His notable artworks include Jesus the Fool (1998~), Song of Life (1989), The Scattering Pine Pollen (2016), Wind and Bamboo (2017). With extensive subject matter including flowers, trees, portraits of Jesus, landscapes of travel destinations, memories from childhood, pine pollen blowing in wind, and the scenery of bamboo forests, Kim articulates free, dynamic and diverse expressions. He is called 'the life artist' as his œuvre revolves around the theme of life, and his various works with nature as the subject show sprouting vitality and poetic beauty in variegated ways. Another trait permeating Kim's works is the matière of its thick texture that can be seen on the painting's surface. He has invented the method of painting by applying various pigments and stone powder onto the thick surface of the canvas made out of Korea mulberry paper. His artworks often show his unique technique resembling Western relief or Eastern concavo-convex methods. Through these works, he goes beyond the conventional techniques of Oriental paintings or ancient highbrow techniques of Chinese paintings, and pursues his unique way of representation, seeking his individual and independent form of Korean modern painting by embodying traditional Korean aesthetics and the theories of Oriental painting.[4] Teaching career
Solo exhibitions
Museum collectionOverseas museums
South Korean museums
Awards and prizes
References
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