Sayart.net - Painter IM KYUNG-SUK, An artistic soul with controlled madness

Sayart.net
Jason Yim, yimjongho1969@gmail.com

“Do you know the scent of roses? Do you know the rosy life you endured and endured?”This is the last sentence of the poem “Rosy Life,” which is included in her poetry collection “그리움의 수혈을 거부합니다,” published by painter IM KYUNG-SUK.

IM KYUNG-SUK, who has lived a turbulent life as a painter, poet, essayist, and performance artist, is now as rosy as her poems. As an artist, she had the honor of being a “first”, and as a human being, she had many moments of “despair”. Then, at last, She bloomed like a shining rose.” 

▲ Blessing bird. Acrylic on canvas, 320 x 162cm, 2019, Courtesy of Vichae Art Museum.

Since August of last year, her “Blessing Bird”, along with BTS and Korean food, has been playing on the digital display board at Incheon International Airport as Korea’s representative content. Those who visit or leave Korea respond by saying, "It feels good that we are blessed", when they see her work.

Her works stand out with simple composition and colorful primary colors. In particular, the “eyes” and exaggerated “eyebrows” that appear in all of her works are responsible for communication with the outside world. She said that these eyes are “the source of my art.” Her theory is that “everything such as horses, birds, human beings can truly communicate through the eyes.”

It took a lot of hard work before she succeeded as a painter. When she was young, Park Yong-Sook, a famous Korean critic, advised her, "To stand on the international stage, you must draw more than 1,000 works and draw large works frequently. In particular, you must acquire knowledge in the humanities to sublimate art into philosophy."

In her paintings, Korean sensibility is melted. The blank space of her work and the thick lines that seem to have been brushed are oriental sentiments. Also, Her main color is blue. Her blue symbolizes peace. The theme of peace and love, which she pursued throughout her life, is naturally permeated into her works.

▲ I love you, Acrylic on canvas, 130 x 162 cm(100호), 2022, Courtesy of Vichae Art Museum.

IM KYUNG-SUK has great tenacity. She calls it madness, she said, and it's like a blessing from heaven. "Unstoppable madness refers to general madness, but the artist's madness has the elasticity to spring back at any moment," she said.

Intoxicated with the afterglow of her childhood, she wanted to be her poet. She had no way to learn poetry, so she tried to express something by writing in a diary every day. This impulse of hers was later expressed as her artistry.

▲ Courtesy of UPIkorea, IM KYUNG-SUK

"I was very inspired by Edvard Munch's The Scream as a child. Others liked soft paintings like Renoir, but I was different. Even though I was young, I thought Munch painted real life. Perhaps because I liked Munch, I liked strong things from then on. I love Liszt's rhapsody and Tchaikovsky's pathos (Symphony No. 6 B minor “Pathéque”. Looking back, as a kid, I was very interested in such basic things as why people live, why people die, and whether there is God."

In 1985, she held a fashion show and performance for the first time as an Asian woman at the Center Pompidou in Paris, France. The little Asian woman made a big impression there then. So She was known more as a performance artist than a painter at the time. But after that She became a famous artist who had exhibited her works at the Flushing Town Hall Invitational Exhibition in New York, the Chosun Ilbo Art Museum Invitational Exhibition, the Chicago Art Museum Group Invitational Exhibition, and the Dubai Art Fair.

Prior to that, in the 1980s, Korea was a dictatorship. At that time, she returned to her home country after studying in France. And she performed for Park Jong-Cheol and Lee Han-Yeol, who died during the democratization movement. Even though she was a woman, she cut her hair and criticized the tyranny of the dictatorship on stage. In particular, in her performance held at the Batangol Arts Theater, she wrapped a black cloth around the theater and dragged the coffin to perform a thrilling performance. In the eyes of Koreans at the time, That was bold performance art that was ahead of its time.

▲ MeditationAcrylic on canvas, 130 x 162cm, 2021, Courtesy of Vichae Art Museum.

She has a lot of talent. She has been active in various clothes such as a poet, screenwriter, painter, and performance artist and so on.

"I was happy to be able to paint without starving. Every time life was tough, I thought of Gauguin and Lee Joong-Seop. They left starving, but I was better than them. I thought, what could I not do?" She also said, "I've been loved by many people, so I ask myself if I'm doing my best right now."

At the end of the interview, she said, "I will become a lightning rod of the times and stand up even if I am struck by lightning." 

▲ Courtesy of UPIkorea, IM KYUNG-SUK

Meanwhile, Since last month, she has been holding her solo exhibition at the Vichae Art Museum in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul. The exhibition held under the theme of “Love and Peace” continues until the 20th of this month. Her 23 works, including Blessing Bird, which became a hot topic, “Graceful”, “Lover”, “Connection” and “Light of the Soul” are welcoming the audience.