남천 송수남      SooNam, Song (1938 - 2013)

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​​​The artist majored in western and oriental painting in Korea and was a professor of
oriental painting at Hong Ik Univ. for 30years.
He is also known as a master artist of ink-and-wash painting. He had aroused the

spirit and independence of oriental painting in 1980 with the slogan, the establishment

of new Korean painting.
He is one of the most noticeable artists in Korea as well.
His work has changed unexpectedly from the top of Indian ink abstract to coloring.
The abstractness in his works contains the meaning of simplicity and clearness.
It means that the more explanation, the harder delivering the meaning.
The artist is influenced by the fatalism.
He considers the occurrence and expansion of all of events, motive and the process
of thinking is the destiny. There is no philosophy or ideology in his works.
Instead of using ink sticks the artist had been using over 40 years, he paints without
any sketch on canvas like oriental artist used to work a long ago, and uses acrylic
paint with a western brush. The ingredient is western and the method is oriental.
The artist highly regards the harmony of color. The depth of beauty is changed by
the color stays by the side, but not by its own color, like our lives.
He sometimes paints the shape and its own color of flowers or daringly destroys
its shape. So, he interprets natural beauties as his own style through free and brisk
works of a brush. It doesn't matter whether the work resembles the objects.
Because, it is a painting involving the meaning but not just showing the appearance
of objects. His flowers in the artwork are not just flowers, because it is a drawing
which meaning is painted. According to the old literature, when the painting loses
the shape of objects, it loses the universality and common sense. And if the painting
loses the meaning, it loses the eternity and depth in the arts.
Therefore, the artist puts value on the ultimate harmony of two concepts.
He has painted freely not being tied down by any notion and thought exceeding the two
of the notion. He said he really enjoys painting flowers, and he has painted flowers,
because he really likes them.
Flowers of pleasures are born from the mind of pleasure.

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Collection

Seoul national university museum, ​​​​​​​Hongik university Museum,​​​​ Korea ​​​university museum, 

​​​​​​​Hanyang university Museum, National museum of contemporary art,​​​​ Seoul museum of art

Busan museum of art, Daejeon museum of art​, Hoam art museum​​​​, ​​Hanlim art museum​​,

​Kidang​​ art museum, ​​Total ​​museum of contemporary art, ​​The british museum in UK,

Youngeun ​​museum of contemporary art, Korea culture center at university Hawaii,

Museum of Asian art in Sweden, Museum of asian art in San Francisco​