Sisa Oneul | Let’s Run Park Seoul Holds Kim Hyun Jung’s Exhibition ‘(New) Portrait of a Beauty on Horseback’
Let's Run Park Seoul announced on the 1st that, to mark the renovation of its Horse Museum's special exhibition hall, it would hold Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung's invitational exhibition '(New) Portrait of a Beauty on Horseback' from November 5. New works on the theme of horses and women, such as 'Riding a Horse,' are on view free of charge through November 29.
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Let's Run Park Seoul announced on the 1st that it will hold Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung's invitational exhibition '(New) Portrait of a Beauty on Horseback,' to mark the renovation of the Horse Museum's special exhibition hall.
Opening on the 5th, the exhibition presents works depicting horses and women, including 'Riding a Horse,' 'A Woman Is a Horse,' 'Somma-time,' 'A Word of Congratulations,' 'Santa Maria,' and 'Naesoong Paradise.'
Kim, using horses and beauties as her subject, unfolds the life and sentiments of contemporary people through delicate depiction reminiscent of Goryeo Buddhist painting and humor and wit rooted in Joseon-era genre painting.
Also on view are works such as 'Naesoong: Genitis,' 'Naesoong: The One Who Moves Me,' 'Hero,' the 'Where Is Your Rainbow?' series, and 'Spring Maiden,' in which various modern vehicles — scooters, bicycles, trucks, cars, motorcycles — replace the horse of traditional painting.
In particular, beyond the high level of expression, the fresh themes are seen as a model of new genre painting. In the works, women in hanbok, indifferent to the decorum, rituals, and attitudes their attire implies, hike up their skirts to gallop full-speed on horseback, or mount motorcycles — typically seen as the domain of tough men.
The artist's honest exposure of desire offers catharsis to those ordinarily confined within social norms, and for an artist who had until now mostly painted women alone, introducing the horse, a warm living creature, became a new source of stimulation and change.
Artist Kim's exhibition, infusing tradition with novelty and continuing to receive attention from around the world, can be seen for free (excluding the Let's Run Park entrance fee on race days) at Let's Run Park Seoul Horse Museum through the 29th.