Korean Traditional Painting in Alter-age: Pure and Hybrid

26 Jun-21 Aug 2026

Overview

The Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCCUK), in collaboration with Ilmin Museum of Art, is pleased to present Korean Traditional Painting in Alter-age: Pure and Hybrid.

The exhibition centres on literati painting as a key strand of Korean traditional art, placing works from the Ilmin Museum of Art and Ilmin Cultural Foundation collections in dialogue with four contemporary painters. Masterpieces spanning the late Joseon Dynasty through the twentieth century intersect with works by younger artists who draw on the traditional methods of copying (mo, 模), studying and imitating (im, 臨), and adapting (bang, 倣). Through this encounter, past examples and present adaptations reflect one another, opening a renewed inquiry into the meaning and identity of Hangukhwa (Korean painting).

Literati painting emerged from the spirit of the seonbi (“scholar”), rooted in reflection, self-cultivation, and artistic discipline. Traditionally, artists developed their practice through the methods of copying (mo, 模), studying and imitating (im, 臨), and adapting (bang, 倣). The four contemporary artists in the exhibition revisit these approaches in different ways, bringing historical forms and techniques into conversation with contemporary perspectives and materials.

The term Hangukhwa itself carries significant weight. Under Japanese colonial rule, Korean art was institutionalised under the label "Oriental Painting." Emerging after liberation, Hangukhwa represented a yearning for decolonised identity - yet rather than asserting a single, pure origin, the concept has evolved to accommodate diverse perspectives in dialogue with contemporary art. The subtitle "Pure and Hybrid" points to the structure through which tradition as a cultural system evolves over time. For these four artists, the gap between purity and hybridity becomes a condition for creation: their works move between close adherence to traditional principles and moments in which those principles are transformed through contemporary experiences and cross-cultural influences.

This exhibition is co-organised by the Korean Cultural Centre UK, the Korean Cultural Center to Belgium & the EU, and Ilmin Museum of Art, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, Arts Council Korea, and Hyundai Sungwoo Holdings. The exhibition will travel to the Korean Cultural Center to Belgium & the EU from 17 September to 13 November 2026.