Sayart.net - [interview]Painter Suk Chul-Joo, ＂Artists paint alone, but good artists cannot be alone＂

Sayart.net 

Jason Yim  yimjongho1969@gmail.com 

Painter Suk Chul-Joo first entered an oriental painting with Lee Sang-Beom, the master of Korean painting. He is also famous for playing the leading role in the Expungement of the Japanese flag of Sohn Kee-Chung.

The person who erased the Japanese flag from the picture of Sohn Kee-Chung, who won the gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics while working for the Dong-A Ilbo, is his teacher Lee Sang-Beom,

Suk Chul-Joo, who later majored in oriental painting at Chugye University of the Arts, made a splendid debut in the Korean art scene by winning six national exhibitions from 1971 to 1979.

Recognized for his talent in the field of oriental painting, but his yearning for change, he embarked on a new challenge and entered the wider path of Western painting.
 

▲ Painter Suk Chul-Joo, Courtesy of UPIKorea.

Perhaps because of his roots in oriental painting, his art works give a strange feeling as if they were oriental paintings or Western paintings.

He said, “Now, looking back at the pictures I drew in the past, I am looking back on the emotions and expression techniques of that time.”

There were many art works like gems for him, and in particular, 'Shinmongyudowondo (New scenery in a dream)', which was first introduced in 2005, became the topic of the world.

“Mongyudowondo is the painting drawn by A-Gyeon, one of the greatest painters of early Joseon Dynasty, after his hearing the dream of the Great Prince Anpyeong. My art work is a reinterpretation of An Gyeon’s painting. Actually, I wanted to talk about hope through dreams.”

The characteristic of Shinmongyudowondo is that a hot air balloon appeared in the painting.
 

▲ The characteristic of Shinmongyudowondo is that a hot air balloon appeared in the painting. Courtesy of Bichae Art Museum.

“The color is also clearer and more intense than before. In the past, the entire image was expressed in two colors, blue and pink, but This work shapes in various colors that can be seen in the four seasons. ” He said.

“An artist must be able to constantly change. It is also important to communicate and understand the flow of the times. An artist must see, hear, and draw a lot. Of course, An artist must not work blindly. This kind of fierceness is necessary for artists. ” He continued his speech.

He glanced at his artworks on the wall for a moment and said, “Artists paint alone, but good artists cannot be alone.”

He said that he is always thinking about improving the 'completeness of the work'. In order to create such a high-quality work, “Artists should remember the proverb: Too much is as bad as too little.” He said.

He completes the work in one fell swoop. In Korea, this is called “ilpil-hwiji”. He paints in a paradoxical way of completing the work by erasing it rather than drawing it.

Actually, he paints with a large brush on the canvas at once, and then uses water to erase the color. In this way, oriental shading is shown and the object is materialized.

His method of work creates coincidence and inevitability, resulting in a unique work.

▲ by Suk Chul-Joo. 'Moon jar'. Courtesy of Bichae Art Museum.

He said, “A vocalist can't make a sound as they get older, but a painter has a lot of good points because the older he gets, the deeper his artistic soul gets. I chose a good job.”