The call of Korean art

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Cha Young-Kyu, the senior-most artist at the exhibit said," almost all of the exhibit deals with figures and landscapes, in one way or another. We've always been in close contact with our rich ancient heritage. I've used chalk and stone powder on traditional paper." Nature was apparent in his work, with gold, sliver and yellow swaying forms that stood for an autumn landscape in 'Talk in the woods'. The painting, like all other entries at the exhibit was undoubtedly subtle and sophisticated : it was impressionistic, bringing in the flora of the Korean countryside, with large dots and thick curved lines. Yu Mee-rang , dwelling on her work, "Spring" said, "I brought in bamboo leaves, which are typically Korean, and different from the Japanese or Chinese. The background had been worked upon with soft, impressionistic shades with motifs from nature, while in front was a life-like presentation of more such leaves done in emerald, black and beige." "Mentally, we are like the Chinese and Japanese but there is a definite subtle difference," she said. "This is my first visit to Bangladesh and all my colleagues and I arel enjoying ourselves to the hilt. I look forward to having an exchange of ideas with Bangladeshi artists, as do all my colleagues," she added.

Another young female artist, from Seoul, whose name sounded like "Yu gang-Ye", had brought in the subject of amour by the use of scintillating shades of vermilion. This had been combined with floating images of butterflies, crockery, a chain with a half-opened romantic locket, containing a sentimental female portrait. In the blue and red, dominant on the paper , I've used the same painting technique as the other members of our group". Like all the polite and amicable artists, she said that she liked every bit of our culture and will return with pleasant memories. Youn-Ok's "Wild flower" had created hearts and flowers, purple and blue, line with white -- which were intertwining, sliding and gliding -- on the gray base. Park, Man-Gyu's in his "Life", contained gray and white strokes presented the typical Korean bamboo leaves. Kim, Chang-Rai's work "From Memory" (canvas and soil) has included contrasting splashes of black, white, burnt-sienna and other muted shades with superb texture work: the result was dynamic and dramatic.

Well-known artist Hashim Khan, commenting on the display, said, "Among the eastern countries, Korea does not appear to be outside the trend followed in China or Japan. The tradition of the Koreans hark back to centuries as is well known; yet at the same time there is the forward looking approach in the works. The artists are trying to break through their integral confines. Their use of their own colours, ink, sand, glue and papers cannot be refuted. However, it's a pity that I can't spot a single oil in the massive collection."

Reputed artist Abdus Shakoor, giving his opinion of the paintings had this to say, "When a country is economically powerful, like that of South Korea, there is always a reflection of this economic development in the work of that nation. The artists enjoy considerable freedom in their expression; the materials like the paper, brush and colours are naturally of a high grade. Again, experimentation can be rampant in a country like South Korea. The Korean artists are aware both of their roots and what is going on in the outside world. Out of 5,000 working artists in S. Korea about 20 or 25 have been selected; the exhibit itself contains approximately 45 paintings; each work is individualistic and superb. If, on the other hand, we examine our own situation, we've gone froward due to individual effort, despite economic handicaps. Hopefully, young Bangladeshi artists have surely learnt quite a bit from this exposure: they must have found inspiration to carve out their own paths for experimentation."

K M Mithu, another successful artist and well-known film-maker said about the South Korean collection, "My impression is that something different has been presented here. Some of the paintings are rather academic while some are fairly experimental. Most importantly, our students should be able to glean much from these contemporary paintings."

One came away from the gem-like creations with admiration for the ambitious effort of both the Shilpakala Academy and the Korean artists.