Si loin, si proche : le Pays du Matin calme / So Distant, So Near: The Land of Morning Calm
Ji-Young Demol Park, Lee Lee Nam
20 mars 2024 - 30 juin 2024
-
In the wake of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Korea, this exhibition proposes a unique meeting between two contemporary Korean artists: Ji-Young Demol Park and Lee Lee Nam.
Alongside a selection of ancient works from the Musée national des Arts asiatiques – Guimet and the Baur Foundation, their landscapes are an expression of the links established over the centuries between cultures and objects, materials, colours and motifs. Jade- and pine-coloured celadon, horizon lines tinged with blue by cobalt oxide, and porcelain glazed the colour of the snow or moon together echo the work of the two creators, whose artistic gazes meet and resonate with the landscapes of the great painter Jeong Seon (1676–1759). Many aspirants have followed in the footsteps of this famous artist of the Joseon period (1392–1910) and have identified with him. But what unites Ji-Young Demol Park’s ink-bathed mountains and Lee Lee Nam’s virtual landscapes, in spite of their differences, are as much the originality and vitality of their relationship with this heritage as the power of their respective artistic visions, which both strive to inspire a re-enchantment of nature in the viewer.