The private space where late painter Kim Tschang-Yeul devoted decades of his artistic life before his passing has been reborn as a public art venue through a local government restoration and redevelopment project. Visitors can now encounter the traces of the artist’s life and philosophy within the very environment where he once worked.
Kim Tschang-Yeul’s House. Photo by Jongno-gu Office.
Jongno District will present the exhibition “Kim Tschang-Yeul: Traces of Waterdrops” from May 29 through August 23 to commemorate the official opening of “Kim Tschang-Yeul’s House” in Pyeongchang-dong.
Opening with a ceremony on May 28, the exhibition focuses closely on the environmental characteristics of the studio where Kim lived and worked for more than 30 years. The building’s high ceilings and abundant natural light made it particularly suitable for producing large-scale paintings and hanji-based works involving water. Reflecting those spatial conditions, the exhibition centers primarily on paper works.
The exhibition features 24 original works in total, including 19 paintings, four prints, and one drawing from donations by the artist’s family and works owned by Jongno District. Visitors will be able to trace the evolution of Kim’s artistic world across five decades, from his early works of the 1970s through pieces created in the late 2010s.
Audiences can also compare the developmental process of Kim’s iconic “Recurrence” series, which combines his signature waterdrops with textual imagery, from early sketches to completed works. Rare paper prints that were seldom publicly exhibited during the artist’s lifetime are also included.
Kim Tschang-Yeul’s studio used during his lifetime. Photo by Jongno-gu Office.
During the early 1970s, while living in Paris, Kim Tschang-Yeul became inspired by the sight of waterdrops glistening in morning sunlight on the back of canvases he had sprayed with water for reuse. That moment led him to devote his life to the motif of waterdrops, eventually earning him the title “the painter of waterdrops.”
The hyperrealistic waterdrops painted upon rough, unprimed surfaces embodied both Western visual illusion techniques and philosophical ideas rooted in Buddhism and Taoism, including concepts of emptiness and nonexistence.
The newly opened “Kim Tschang-Yeul’s House” was remodeled through consultation with the artist’s family and a redevelopment budget of 7 billion won. The building, spanning 511.96 square meters across two basement floors and two above-ground floors, now houses a special exhibition gallery on the first floor and a café lounge on the second floor.
Meanwhile, the underground studio used by Kim during his lifetime has preserved its original atmosphere, including the circular skylight structure that gently filters natural light into the space below.
The restoration of Kim’s creative environment, which intentionally minimized external visual distractions and relied instead on inner light and contemplation, is expected to leave a lasting impression on visitors.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
* This article was manually prepared as a translated piece and later proofread and reviewed with the assistance of AI.
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