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Master Korean-style painter Lee Jong-sang exhibited his uniquely fascinating art pieces at Daejeon Museum of Art from April 6-May 20 under the theme of "Original Form Images"to the excitement of his art lovers across the country. The solo exhibition of one of the greatest Korean-style painters still living was jointly organized by the Museum and the TJB Daejeon Broadcasting Co.
On display were from his early work to the latest, tracing changes in his painting style, some figurative and some abstract, created in his exclusive domain of art.
Art critic Kim Bok-young, professor of Art Studies at Hongik University in Seoul, contributed an extensive review of the master painter's inimitable art work in the book published to celebrate the exhibition held in Daejeon. Daejeon Art Museum invited the artist to hold an exhibition when it first opened, but delayed until now due to the Daejeon native artist's busy schedule. The master painter, born in 1938, established the Illang Art Hall and operates it.
    
What attracted the most attention from the viewers were his work with the themes of Goguryo, an ancient Korean kingdom and Dokdo, an isolated islet off the east coast of Korea, which is mired in controversy over its ownership between Korea and Japan. Painter Lee has been a staunch defender of both the ancient kingdom and the small islet. Chinese history scholars have claimed that the ancient kingdom was Chinese in origin ruled by Chinese rulers, although located close to the old Manchurian and Korean border. He heads the Goguryo Culture Preservation Headquarters and the Dokdo Culture Implant Headquarters to just show how intensive he has been in work related to claiming the ownership of the islet and the nature of the ancient kingdom.
The solo exhibition was to celebrate his 70 years of age divided into three major categories- 'true scenes,' 'new murals,'and "original form images."Under 'true scenes'category belongs his work in the mid 1960s such as "women'now in the collection of the Yonsei University Museum,
  
and other work depicting laborers at jobsites, city scenes, hill sceneries, and sceneries around Dokdo, among others. In the "new murals"category were such work as those created in the latter half of the '60s including'time immemorial,'a mixed mural, 130x180 cm created during 1968-1969, fresco, and several types of murals painted with a variety of techniques. The largest category was "original form images,"which included most of his masterpieces with their lists taking up most of the latter half of the list of works. One could feel the heavy affection that the painter paid on the works under the category. He created works under the category from the 1980s with many symbols and marks as if to draw an ancient map of Korea's mountains and rivers in a simple style. The painter tried various colors, material and styles in the work. He used broad brush strokes, sometimes triangular and zigzags, to express mountains and thin lines to show streams and roads.
Lee used inks on various papers including traditional Korean papers,
Chinese drawing papers and paper covering sliding doors. His canvases also included floor papers and colors on copper plates. His experimentation has been going on for over two decades including even the screen sections for installations and murals.
What draws the special attention in his experiments is his love for things native to Korea. He uses the products produced in Korean culture throughout its long history. All kinds of traditional Korean papers, color inks and installation art using folding screens make up good examples. These material explain to the point what is meant by 'self-reliance'created by Lee in painting.
But the painter knows that culture is alive and breathing and always to clash with others and get mixed as an organic matter. This shows that he is open to foreign art, not chauvinistic, who can compare home-grown and foreign arts through his extended international experience. His work series under the subject of 'original form images'appeared from the early '60s when he was equipped with all kinds of painting experiences,
confirming that above statement.
In his early 20s, the painter swept all kinds of awards, although he was still in his tender age, including the National Art Exhibition award and he came to understand a deep meaning of 'true sceneries'in his 30s and 40s. The work had not been a simple one to transform the tradition with modernity, in fact, an awesome one for Lee or Illang, his penname, because it was not just painting a thing or scenery into a canvas. It shows also why he transferred to the Korean-style art department from the western art department at Seoul National University Fine Art College. Illang wanted to uphold the true scenery painting tradition of Chung Son, a Joseon Dynasty Korean-style painter and modernize it, an ambitious and daring job, taking up most of his artistic career. His work during the '60s and 60s belong to this category of his art work. He painted not with ideals nor to play games with brushes only what he saw with his eyes realistically so that the spirit would shine beneath his brush strokes
and practice the leading spirit of the school of 'true scenery'came down from the late pioneer Chung Son.
Professor Yoon Jin-sup of Honam University said in his critic on Lee's artwork that the painter spent most of his time doing research on the origin of fine art. He began his life-long study
focusing on land where we were born and raised. His study objects range from murals of Goguryo Kingdom to the feel of the mountains and to colors that dominate our consciousness through his own philosophical observations. He has never acted like a scholar, but what he has done is to find something to back up the world of his art with theories through words and researches.
His concern and study have been focused on 'self-reliant nature'or 'original form images.'A definition has that self-reliance is the power of application of Korean beauty and identity and make up the direction, in other word, a root power to preserve the special feature of our fine art.
'original Form Images'is the subject of art pieces that the painter created from the mid-1980s with a variety of techniques and material continuously.
Therefore, Lee's work could be divided into these two broad subjects summing up his life-long artistic activities spanning half a century. nw

Dokdo-"gi"(spirit) II-1982-70x70cm-ink-broad paper(323MB)-5
(below) Master painter lee at his library.

(clockwise)
Urfiguration: Land - 1990-170x234cm-floor paper-in the collection of Samsung Art Museum.

Urfiguration: DMZ-1990-160x130cm-Korean paper-ink-natural dye-57.

Urfiguration: Heavenly Lake-1997-
370-900cm-mural on bronze-000103

(clockwise) King Gwanggaeto Land Expansion Painting-1983-200x300cm-broad paper method-War Museum collection.-398.
King Gwanggaeto of Goguryo Kingdom-1983:200x300cm-broad paper method-in the collection of the War Museum-398.
Indonesian Dancer:1979-26x24cm-ink-28.
Urfiguration: Fatherland-1991-143x189cm-oil on copper plate--Leum Museum collection-796.