Kansong Art Museum holds an exhibition in seven years

Kansong Art Museum, which has been closed for expansion of open storage and renovation, is set to open an exhibition in seven years. From April 16 to June 5, Kansong Art Museum will hold “Invaluable Purification and Reform of the Old: Reconnect with Kansong’s Treasures.” The exhibit will present 32 pieces of cultural artifacts, which have been preserved for two years under the Cultural Heritage Administration’s program of assistance for institutions.

At the exhibition, the first copy of the Collected Poems of Maeheon, a Confucian scholar in the late Goryeo and early Joseon period who was a student of Jeong Mong-joo (1337-1392) and a teacher of King Sejong (1418-1450) and Jeong In-ji, a Confucian scholar, published in 1452 will be revealed to the public for the first time. Also, the Collected Paintings of Haedong, which was collected by Kim Gwang-guk (1727-1797), who was a representative painting collector in the late Joseon period. The Collected Paintings of Haedong features 30 pieces of paintings, including An Gyeon’s “A Village in the Autumn Forest,” Shin Saimdang (1504-1551)’s “The Grape,” and Won Myeong-yoo (1740-1774)’s “Peach Blossom Spring of Paradise.” Chief Curator Baik In-san called the Collected Paintings of Haedong as “an essential art book for Korean art history majors.” “This book features drawings and articles collected by Kim Gwang-guk, a huge art collector in the era of King Yeongjo for his entire life,” said Baik.

The exhibition also features “Budai monk” of Han Shi-gak (1621~?), an accompanying painter of Joseon Tongsinsa (missions to Japan) in the 17th century Joseon, “Dongfang Shuo Stealing Peaches of Immortality” of Kim Hong-do (1745~?), and “Hermit Riding on the Back of the Deer” of Jang Seung-eop (1843-1897).

“This exhibition was long awaited, after nearly three years of the COVID-19 pandemic and renovation of the open storage and many other obstacles,” said Jeon In-geon, the chief of Kansong Art Museum. “Focusing on preservation of cultural properties, the Kansong Art Museum will continue its mission of exhibiting, preserving, studying, and educating cultural artifacts, which it first started back in 1971.”


Ji-Hoon Lee easyhoon@donga.com