A person hanging from a cliff. That was how Bae Yoon Hwan (31) felt while fixing an eight-meter-wide canvas to the wall of his studio and painting across its surface. “When I stand facing a wall and paint, it sometimes feels like a problem I must overcome, or even an opponent I must fight.”
The work that earned Bae the Grand Prize at the 36th JoongAng Fine Arts Prize was Cliff Hanger (217 × 800 cm). Embedded within a length of fabric fixed to the wall are seventy framed paintings he created.
The images depict a person gripping a subway hand strap as if hanging from it, the mouth of a woman eating toast, a painter wearing clothes splattered with paint like a Jackson Pollock canvas, and distorted faces resembling cartoon characters. Together they form a bizarre crowd scene—a human drama of the subway.
“The subway is where I spend the most time after my studio. Amid the monotony of repeated routes, I encounter different people every day, like stations or exits I have never visited before.” These are the words of one of the emerging figures of contemporary Korean art.
Born in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, Bae graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at Seowon University and later earned an MFA in Painting from Kyungwon University. “The sensibility of being outside the center, of belonging to a minority position, is my strength. It seems that my sense of inferiority has manifested itself as positive energy.”
Although he had little interest in academic study, he found himself completely absorbed in drawing, which led him to attend art school. Immediately after graduating from graduate school, he joined Cheongju Art Studio and began his life as an artist. According to Bae, people around him looked at him with concern, as if thinking, “Another unemployed person is about to be born.”
“I was hoping at least for an Excellence Award, so I was shocked when they announced me as the Grand Prize winner. I especially want to thank my parents and older brother, who have always supported me, as well as Byeong-gyu and his mother, who provided me with an environment where I could continue making work.”
Bae explained the origins of the work: “I spend most of my time in my studio in Seongnam, and occasionally emerge into the world by taking the subway to part-time jobs painting murals or illustrations. During rush hour, I barely manage to hold onto the straps, surrounded by people carrying the smell of grilled meat. On this subway that endlessly circles through the curves and cycles of life, we are all hanging on, each trying somehow to make something of ourselves.”
He continued, “Countless people pass one another, appearing as though they might collide yet never quite doing so. The situation is precarious, but everyone continues on their own path. People have been talking about the death of painting for a long time, yet painting has survived even longer. Its precariousness and potential resemble the countless routes and trajectories that intersect within the subway.”
The JoongAng Fine Arts Prize, organized by JoongAng Ilbo and JTBC and sponsored by POSCO, received applications from 190 artists earlier that year. Twenty artists were selected through portfolio review, and ten were chosen following presentation evaluations. These ten selected artists presented newly created works produced over the previous six months.
Four jurors—Kim Boggi, president of Art in Culture; Nathalie Boseul Shin, curator at Total Museum of Contemporary Art; YOO Jinsang, professor at Kaywon University of Art and Design; and art critic Jung Hyun—reviewed and discussed the exhibition before determining the final award recipients.
The Grand Prize (KRW 10 million) was awarded to Bae Yoon Hwan, while the Excellence Prize (KRW 5 million) went to Yoo mokyon. Ahn Kyuchul, chair of the steering committee, remarked, “I applaud these selected artists as they take their first steps through Korea’s longest-running gateway for emerging artists.” The exhibition ran through the 10th.
The JoongAng Fine Arts Prize (fineart.joins.com) was established in 1978 as an alternative to the rigidity of state-led art competitions. Many artists who have shaped and continue to shape Korean contemporary art—including Park Daesung (Grand Prize, 2nd edition), Sundoo Kim (7th), Moon Bong Sun (10th), Jung Jae Chul (11th), and Shin Kiwoun (29th)—have passed through the JoongAng Fine Arts Prize.
