'Geometric Abstraction' is a tendency of painting to emphasize geometric shapes, primary colors, and screen flatness. Representative Geometric Abstract artists include Piet Mondrian, Wassily Kandinsky, and Kazimir Malevich, whose style was treated as a major trend in the art world during the 20th century.

In South Korea, Geometric Abstraction first appeared in the 1920s and rapidly spread from the late 1960s to the mid-70s. The art style was also poorly evaluated in Korean art history due to its evaluation as art far from Korean sentiment.

'Modern Boy' and 'Modern Girl', referring to the young people who accepted the new culture of the time, encountered the geometric cover design through the film pamphlets in theaters in the 1920s and 30s. and also the magazines of the time actively utilized Geometric Abstract Art.

The Sinjohyeongpa, a coalition of painters, architects, and designers, was formed in 1957. Based on architecture, the group was modeled after Bauhaus, a German architecture and art school that sought to integrate fine and applied art and technology.

From the late 1960s to the mid-70s, Geometric Abstraction spread to artists regardless of generation in Korea. It was recognized as suitable for the situation of the times after the 1960s when the country wanted to develop through the development of industry, construction, and science.

On July 21, 1969, astronauts aboard the U.S. manned spacecraft Apllo11 landed on the moon for the first time in mankind. Korean society also watched that event via a huge TV set up at Namsan Outdoor Concert Hall in Korea. The moon landing incident caused a huge stir in Korea at the time, and the opening of the space era emerged as an object of interest and inspiration to artists.

In this way, Geometric Abstraction which has developed according to the background of the times and has fused with modern culture makes us think about how the style has continued and changed to the present in the 2000s.

MMCA Gwacheon holds the exhibition, 'Geometric Abstraction In Korean Art' until May 19 next year. About 200 artworks by about 40 artists, including representative artists such as Whan-ki Kim and Seo-bo Park, will be displayed in the exhibition.

Sayart / Nao Yim, yimnao@naver.com