Min Joung-Ki

b. 1949. Lives and works in Seoul and Yangpyeong. Min Joung-Ki participated in a number of exhibitions in the 1970s and 1980s such as “December Exhibition,” “The 3rd Group Exhibition” and “Reality and Utterance Group Members’ Exhibition.” Min has been creating works that materialize the urban landscape and the lives within it. After moving his studio to Yangpyeong in 1990, the artist started to reference ancient maps and communal publications that carry the history and landscape of the place, expanding his themes to the environment, village, city and human life as well as nature. His work has been presented at institutions including the Kumho Museum, Seoul Museum of History, Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art and Insa Art Center.

Manmulsang Rocks on Mt. Geumgang, 2014
Oil on canvas, 240×280 cm
민정기
When one sees a true-view landscape* painting, it feels as if he or she is visually immersed in the painting, walking around within the painting. Kyumjae Jeong Seon (1676-1759)’s Geumgang jeondo (1734) shows a whole picture of Nae Geumgang, the west side of the Mount Geumgang where countless mountain peaks stand around Birobong Peak and streams flow among them. Jeong Seon’s painting gives a whole picture of the mountain, seen from the top of Misiryung Ridge. The landscape can be seen in Naegeumgang, but South Koreans can only visit the Oigeumgang side of the mountain.** I climbed the Manmulsang Rocks in Oigeumgang and created an image depicting the landscape surrounded by the countless sharp rocky mountains. I did not draw a long, horizontal composition but made a circular one where the mountains surround me. The bottom part of the painting depicts a long and distant passage that I took to climb the Manmulsang Rocks. [Min Joung-Ki]
 
 
* True-view landscape is a style of painting independently developed by the 17th and 18th century Joseon artists including Jeong Seon. The style is classified as a different style than the Chinese style of painting the ideal landscape. Geumgang jeondo and Inwang jesaekdo are considered representative works of the true-view landscape. [Editor]
** Mount Geumgang is located in North Korea. The development of the mountain as a tourism region in 1998 enabled limited visits to the place by South Korean citizens. After a South Korean tourist was shot dead during her visit to the mountain, the tourism program has been suspended. [Editor]