Saturday, January 28, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
Indian Paintings Hit Seoul
Indian Ambassador to Seoul N. Parhasarathi, left, delivers a speech during an opening ceremony of the painting exhibition “Have I ever seen India” while painter Lee Ho-shin looks on, at Hakgojae in Kwanhun-dong, Seoul, Wednesday.
Ever since a Korean painter traveled 50 days in India in 2003, he has not been able to keep the country from his mind. So he decided to have a painting exhibition to fully bring out his obsession with the country.
Lee Ho-shin, 49, opened his 11th painting exhibition "Have I ever seen India" at Hakgojae Gallery in Kwanhun-dong, Seoul, on Wednesday. The exhibition will run until Jan. 24.
Exploring Calcutta, Bombay, Himalayan Annapurna and Ajanta, the painter captured the history, culture, religion and the realities of India on Korean paper called "hanji."
The exhibition shows 41 paintings on hanji. The paintings are of such people and places as India’s former leader, Mahatma Gandhi, the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Ganges River, the Ajanta Caves, Indian children, and Indians’ spiritual daily lives such as prayer and meditation.
Though the painter said he held this event to thank those who contributed to his trip to India, people present at the opening all agreed that they knew he would love India and it would inspire him to paint.
"When I look at paintings of Lee Ho-shin, I can feel they are alive," Indian Ambassador to Seoul N. Parthasarathi said. "Look at this Mahatma Gandhi, I can hear him whisper a message to me."
The ambassador went on to say that the illustration of the Ganges River and people bathing in it makes him feel the wind at the riverside. "Painter Lee’s works represents a harmony between life and nature."
The ambassador’s comments reflected the work of the well-known painter who draws the correspondence between nature and human beings as lively as possible. To show what he felt in India, he sent 140 picture-letters to acquaintances in Korea while he was traveling.
Parthasarathi even called Lee "karma yogi" as the painter really seems to be born to produce great paintings to complete his karma in life.
Lee In-ho, former Korean ambassador to Russia, echoed the view, saying that something like a spiritual aura emanates from the paintings, which connect nature, humans and life. "For example, I am moved more when I look at Lee’s paintings than when I see the real things that are depicted in the paintings."
Actually, the painter also wrote about the country in his travels. He held a publication ceremony of his book "Have I ever seen India?" along with the exhibition.
He felt that the paintings alone couldn’t express the India he experienced.
Asked why the title of the exhibition and the book is "Have I ever seen India?", the painter-cum-writer said it’s probably because he is not sure if he saw and experienced India 100 percent.
Nevertheless, Lee’s works show he has a deep insight of India as critics have indicated.
Kim Hak-ryang, curator of Seoul Museum of Art, said Lee does not belong to a group of painters who rely on theory, and defined him as a painter who works through field research.
"Lee listens to trees, birds and grass and meets people for a while, and absorbs the feelings, and then he begins to take a brush to paint," Kim said.
More information of the exhibition is available by calling the gallery at (02) 739-4937.
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Sunday, January 08, 2006
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