임동식·설원기

RIM Dongsik·SUL Wongi

2023.11.30 - 3.24 

뮤지엄호두

Museum Hodu

임동식 ‘풀잎 너머를 보다’ 전시 전경

Installation view of RIM Dongsik: Gazing beyond Grass

천안 광덕면에 새로이 설립된 뮤지엄호두(관장 이윤희)의 개관전으로 임동식, 설원기 작가 각각의 개인전이 함께 개최되고 있다. 자신을 둘러싼 자연을 테마로 작업을 이어 온 임동식 작가와 구상과 추상의 경계를 넘나드는 설원기 작가의 개인전은 서로 다른 길을 걸어왔지만 붓끝에서 조우하는 양상을 만들어낸다. 더불어 이들은 충청지역을 기반으로 하는 작가로, 본 전시는 지역 미술을 담는 또 하나의 그릇인 뮤지엄호두의 시작을 알리는 의미를 가진다.

임동식 작가는 초창기부터 자연 속에서 인지하는 감각을 실험하고 이를 자신과 연결시키는 퍼포먼스를 이어왔다. 이번 전시에 출품되는 임동식 작가의 작품은 자연과의 원초적 교감 상태를 지속하며 자연과 예술 그리고 삶 자체가 하나가 되는 세계를 보여 준다. 또한 설원기 작가는 “가로는 풍경이고, 세로는 자화상이다.”라는 그 자신의 말처럼, 회화의 정체에 대한 근본에 천착하는 태도를 견지하고 있다. 두 작가의 작품은 서로 드러나는 양상은 다르지만, 그린다는 행위 그 자체에 대한 깊은 사유를 바탕으로 하고 있다.

The inaugural exhibition of the newly established Museum Hodu(Director LEE Yoon Hee) in Gwangdeok-myeon, Cheonan City, features two individual exhibitions by artists RIM Dongsik and SUL Wongi. RIM Dongsik, who has consistently focused on the theme of nature in his works, and SUL Wongi, who transcends the boundaries between abstraction and representation. Additionally, both artists are based in the Chungcheong region, and this exhibition holds significance as it marks the beginning of Museum Hodu, serving as another vessel for regional art.

RIM Dongsik, from the early stages of his career, has experimented with senses of perception within nature and continued to connect them through performances. In this exhibition, he’s works depict a primal communion with nature, portraying a world where nature, art, and life become one. Furthermore, SUL Wongi, echoing his own words, “Horizontal is a landscape, and vertical is a self-portrait”maintains an attitude rooted in questioning the essence of painting. While the aspects revealed in the works of these two artists may differ, they share a profound thinking on the act of painting itself.