[Gallery Walk] 100th Anniversary of Birth 'Brilliant Legend, Cheon Kyungja', Special Exhibition in Hometown Goheung

Until December 31, Jeonnam Goheung Buncheong Culture Museum
Over 160 Works Including 29 Color Paintings and 23 Drawings

"Whenever I think of the teacher, I want to smile, yet I don't know why it also makes me sad. The teacher lives with the truth of being strong yet weak, shallow yet lofty, unable to handle worldly affairs well, and somewhat lacking as a person. Who would truly know the teacher? The people I know, the works I know?arrogantly, I sometimes think that if I know, others won't. Isn't that presumptuous? It's a kind of sorrow. I dislike the superficial views of the worldly people. Again, a presumptuous remark."

- From a handwritten letter by Park Kyung-ri

Cheon Kyung-ja, 'Tango Flowing at Twilight, 1978' [Photo provided by Goheung-gun]

A special exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of artist Cheon Kyung-ja (1924?2015), titled "Brilliant Legend, Cheon Kyung-ja," will be held in her hometown, Goheung, Jeollanam-do.

The exhibition, which opened on the 11th, Cheon Kyung-ja's birthday, will run until the 31st of next month at the Goheung Buncheong Culture Museum and Goheung Art Center. It showcases over 160 pieces, including 29 color paintings, 23 drawings, archives, and previously unreleased works and letters exchanged with acquaintances, all reflecting the artist's world sublimated through flowers and women.

The 120-size painting "Jeju Island Landscape" is presumed to have been submitted to the National Art Exhibition in 1956 and is an unfamiliar work of Cheon Kyung-ja that has not been shown to the public for decades. At that time, art critic Lee Bong-sang called Cheon Kyung-ja a "colorist" in a newspaper review of the National Art Exhibition and selected this painting as one of the "noteworthy works of the National Art Exhibition" that year, praising its "challenging creative spirit."

The oil painting "Nude," first shown at the 1970 return exhibition, is believed to have been painted during the artist's stay in Paris, France, from 1969 to spring 1970. It has not been exhibited publicly for over half a century since the return exhibition, drawing attention.

Cheon Kyung-ja, 'Gillye Unni II' (1982).
Photo provided by Goheung-gun

Sumita Kim (real name Kim Jeong-hee, 70), the second daughter of Cheon Kyung-ja and the planner of the exhibition, said, "Many representative works are held at the Seoul Museum of Art, where my mother's works were donated, but none were loaned for this exhibition, which is regrettable but rather a good opportunity." She added, "Because of this, it motivated us to discover unique collections."

"With pure eyes that seem about to burst into tears and the pouty expression unique to a maiden," 'Gillye Sister II' (1982), featuring a yellow dress and a white brimmed hat, is a portrait that has been mentioned as an ideal female figure representing the artist. Gillye Sister, inspired by a senior student seen at a festival during elementary school (Goheung Public School), remains a symbol of eternal beauty living only within the artist's works.

This exhibition presents various drawings, color paintings, and archives collected through multiple channels, including letters exchanged with acquaintances such as Park Kyung-ri, author of "Toji," who was especially close to Cheon Kyung-ja, and illustrations from the autobiography "49 Pages of My Sad Legend," such as "Snake in a Glass Box."

The late artist Cheon Kyung-ja.
[Photo by Goheung-gun]

Cheon Kyung-ja was born in Seomun-ri, Goheung-eup, Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do. She graduated from Goheung Public Elementary School and studied in Gwangju, completing high school. While studying at Tokyo Women's Art School (now Tokyo Women's College of Fine Arts) in Japan, she began her career as a painter when her grandfather and grandmother portraits, "Grandfather" and "Grandmother," were consecutively selected at the Joseon Art Exhibition.

During the special exhibition period, 82 young artists selected through a public contest will also exhibit works reinterpreting Cheon Kyung-ja in their own styles at the Goheung Art Center.