Artworks of Yoon Joong-sik donated to Seongbuk Museum of Art

The bereaved family of modern artist Yoon Joong-sik (1913-2012) donated 500 pieces of artwork and materials of the late artist to the Seongbuk Museum of Art on March 11. Yoon is known as one of the second-generation members of western-style painters in Korea along with Park Su-geun, Lee Jung-seob, Kim Whan-ki and Yoo Young-kuk.

Born in Pyongyang of North Korea, Yoon evacuated to the South during the Korean War. He was separated from his wife and older daughter during the evacuation and lost his younger daughter who was only an infant. He arrived in Busan with his eldest son. “Lee Jung-seob, who had arrived earlier in Busan, offered us his home to stay,” recalls Yoon Dae-kyung (age 75), the eldest son. The late painter went to the Japanese Empirical Art School with Lee and hosted an exhibition in Pyongyang with five other artists including Lee and Kim Byeong-gi.

Yoon moved to Seoul in 1954 and lived in Seongbuk-gu from 1963. His home in Seongbuk-gu was designated as a heritage site of Seoul in 2013. “My father loved the sunset and birds of Seongbuk-gu,” the son said. “He considered Seongbuk his hometown and lived there until his death.”

Yoon painted pastoral landscapes of the countryside with bold colors. His works reflect nostalgia of the past as well as his hometown. His donations to the art museum include 71 oil colors such as Morning (1987), Sunset (2005) and 28 drawings during war evacuation.

The Seongbuk Museum of Art will be hosting an exhibition titled ‘Returning to Hometown’ from March 30 to July 3 to pay tribute to the 10th anniversary of Yoon’s death. A total of 100 artworks including 40 pieces of oil colors, drawing and gouache will be exhibited. An exhibition titled “Friends of the Artist” is planned for the second half of the year, where artworks of contemporary artist friends of Yoon will be featured.


beborn@donga.com