Choi Gene Uk was born in Seoul and earned his BFA in Painting from Seoul National University in 1981, followed by an MFA in Painting from The George Washington University in 1984. Since returning to Korea, he has worked primarily in painting, after serving as a professor in the Department of Western Painting at Chugye University for the Arts. He has since retired and continues his work as an artist with a primary focus on painting.
An “independent course” is a term most frequently used in political
discourse. It refers to actions in which an individual emphasizes and acts upon
their own convictions through a personal mode of operation, rather than
functioning as a member of an established collective. Depending on the degree
of public support, such an independent course may occupy a position of absolute
leadership, or end as a mere episode. A crucial process in undertaking an
independent course is the prior screening of whether the agent’s assertions,
declarations, and actions are valid and appropriate.
For artists, an independent course is both a basic condition and a
fundamental disposition. Yet, as in other fields, loosely formed collectives
inevitably exist. Artists may at times act as members of a group, and at other
times pursue their aims independently. Within the art world, such groupings
have often been simplistically divided into categories such as Minjung Art and
modernism, or figuration and abstraction—classifications that have largely lost
their significance today. In the contemporary context, it is painting itself
that must attract attention precisely by taking an independent course.
Choi Gene Uk belongs neither to the Minjung Art camp nor to modernism;
neither side readily claims him, and the artist himself has chosen isolation.
He speaks of modernism through realism and pursues sensibility through
modernism. This makes his independent course inevitable. Choi’s paintings,
which depict scenes assembled from photographic sources, do not initially
appear difficult. Beginning with the motif of the bicycle, he has painted
self-portraits, studio interiors, classroom scenes, neighborhood views,
Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bulguksa Temple, and scenes of the Provisional Government
of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai.
These are, in effect, realist landscapes
derived from close observation of his surroundings—yet they are not
“well-painted” landscapes by conventional standards. The lines are rough, the
touch lacks polish, and scenes that seem utterly incompatible coexist within a
single frame. There must be a reason for this. At this point, the question
becomes complicated: is this painting signaling the end of painting, the
recovery of painting, or something altogether different—neither
representational painting nor its negation?
An artist is one who poses questions to oneself and expresses the world
through a distinctive mode. Artists compel the public to reconsider habitual
value systems and awaken from complacency. Through painting, Choi Gene Uk seeks
to loosen rigid frameworks of thought—not only the flexibility inherent to
painting itself, but also the flexibility of society at large.
According to
critic Shim Kwang-hyun, Choi repeatedly moves in a zigzag pattern between art
and society, art and politics, abstraction and figuration, ecological
consciousness and social engagement. Through repetition that appears identical
yet is never the same, dialectical transformation occurs, forming Choi Gene
Uk’s distinctive realism. The relationship between Choi and Shim may itself be
understood as one such dialectical pair, and as part of the screening process
that serves the objectives of painting.
In the current exhibition at Ilmin Museum of Art, earlier works are
shown alongside recent pieces. Rather than focusing on representative works or
those that brought the artist public recognition—in other words, works in which
ideological concepts are explicit, such as Words from
Grandfather (1991), Morning Dew (1993),
Culture of North East Asia- Identity (1997), or
North Korea A (2000)—the exhibition instead selects
comparatively “unselfconscious” works. These include Yonheedong
Study (1991), Hongeundong Study (1993),
West of Seoul (1994), Jebu Island (1996),
and My Life (2004).
In addition, self-portrait works are
presented chronologically in order to trace changes in descriptive technique.
The aim is to move beyond rigid assessments of Choi Gene Uk—to reveal traces of
his efforts to escape the confines of political painting in which he himself
had been enclosed, and to recover the flexibility intrinsic to painting and to
thought itself. Accordingly, this exhibition should be understood not as a
completed statement, but as an ongoing process in the formation of Choi Gene
Uk.
Even in seemingly indifferent landscapes, Choi Gene Uk’s work remains a
record of reality, within which social realism lies latent. Extending from this
trajectory are recent works depicting the Provisional Government in Shanghai,
Bukahyeon-dong (the neighborhood in which the artist’s university is located),
and culminating in North Korea C / High-Line Park (2011).
These works constitute an aesthetic manifestation of the artist’s deeply held
aspirations. One may
look forward to their future development.
