Diplomacy Journal Kim Tae Yeon | A special exhibition by Cheongmok Kim Hwang-gyeong, the holder of Seoul Metropolitan City Intangible Cultural Heritage Lacquerware (Lacquer Painting), will be held from June 24 to July 18 on the 1st floor of the Seoul Intangible Cultural Heritage Education Exhibition Center.
This special exhibition showcases various lacquer paintings, including a large-scale 400-size work that recreates "Geumgang-san Manmul Choseunggyeong Do," a representative royal court painting from Changdeokgung Palace's Heojeongdang Hall, using traditional lacquer techniques.
In particular, the reproduction of the "Geumgang-san Manmul Choseunggyeong Do" is receiving significant attention from the Korean traditional art world, being evaluated as a masterpiece that combines the majestic dignity of court painting with the deep colors and delicate expressiveness of traditional lacquer.
This exhibition is expected to be a meaningful opportunity to directly experience the craftsmanship of Cheongmok Kim Hwang-gyeong, a holder of the Seoul Metropolitan City Intangible Cultural Heritage of Lacquerware (Lacquer Painting), and the artistic value of Korean lacquer culture.
This work is a reinterpretation of the "Geumgang-san Manmul Choseunggyeong Do," which majestically adorns the Heojeongdang Hall in the Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul, using modern traditional lacquer painting techniques. It is being praised as a masterpiece that simultaneously demonstrates the value of our cultural heritage and the beauty of lacquer art.
The "Geumgang-san Manmul Choseunggyeong Do" is a representative work of court landscape painting that realistically depicts the breathtaking scenery of Manmulsang in Mt. Geumgang. The strangely shaped rocks and valleys filling the screen, along with the leisurely flowing clouds and mist, gorges, and waterfalls, capture the majestic spirit of Mt. Geumgang. This is a symbolic work created to allow the appreciation of the nation's famous mountain even within the palace walls.
Master Cheongmok Kim Hwang-gyeong has dedicated decades to researching traditional lacquerware and lacquer painting, establishing himself as a leading artisan representing Korean lacquer art. This reproduction also utilizes traditional raw lacquer and natural pigments to bring out the deep luster and colors characteristic of lacquerware, while expressing Mt. Geumgang's grand mountain range and the flow of clouds with delicate brushstrokes.
In particular, the colossal scale, reaching 400-ho (a traditional Korean unit of measurement), boasts an overwhelming scale rarely seen in ordinary paintings. The entire canvas is composed of a single, massive Mt. Geumgang, designed to create a sense of spatial depth that makes viewers feel as if they are gazing at the actual Manmulsaeng.
Lacquerware is not merely a coloring technique. As a representative traditional technique of the Korean people passed down for thousands of years, it is a living art material that acquires deeper colors and a subtle luster as time passes. Re-painting Mount Geumgang on this lacquer is not merely a reproduction, but can be described as a cultural practice that carries the vitality of Korean traditional culture into the present era.
The cultural community regards this work as a prime example of the convergence of court painting and National Intangible Heritage techniques. It is seen as presenting a new model for the modern inheritance of our cultural heritage by combining the historicity of Heojeongdang Hall in Changdeokgung Palace with the traditional techniques of Chiljang (lacquer painting), a Seoul Metropolitan City Intangible Heritage.
Master Cheongmok Kim Hwang-gyeong stated, "Tradition is not merely to be preserved; it must be revived through today's technology and spirit," and added, "I hope that our lacquer culture and court painting will establish themselves as important assets of K-culture in the world."
Experts anticipate that this work, a representative piece demonstrating the potential for the fusion of Korean traditional painting and lacquer art, will become valuable cultural content that promotes the excellence of Korean culture and art through future exhibitions both domestically and internationally. The "Geumgang-san Manmul Choseunggyeong Do"
is regarded as a new milestone in Korean traditional art, going beyond a mere restoration of a masterpiece to harmonize the spirit of court painting, traditional lacquer painting, and modern artisans into one.
