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Art on the Mountain By Nicky Archer
CULTURE & ARTS
▲ Walking towards the Uijae Museum of Korean Art.
Retreating into the honest and harmonious mountainside of what is today Mudeungsan National
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You can explore his works at the Uijae Museum of Korean Art (의재미술관). Make your way uphill, over the red barricade, towards the Jeungsim Temple and, just past it, you will notice a sloping white building embedded into the landscape to the left. Opened to the public since 2001, the Uijae Museum of Korean Art was established by the Uijae Foundation and Gwangju City Council, with the hope that it would become a place where his works could be celebrated and brought back to life. With three gallery spaces in the museum, the permanent collection resides upstairs in the darkened gallery space. With works lit from behind, a real sense of intimacy is created. In contrast, downstairs is a
Gwangju News, August 2022
Born on Jindo Island, South Jeolla Province, Heo Baek-ryeon (1891–1977), better known by his pen name, Uijae (의재), became a master of his craft at an early age, studying under the great calligraphy master Kim Jeong-hui (김정희). Uijae won countless awards and exhibited widely. Despite his success as one of the best Scholar-painters of the 1920s, arguably he produced his best catalog of works later, after he moved to Gwangju.
Park, he was truly inspired. He painted and taught often, continuing to be guided by his principles and philosophy of “love for Heaven, love for earth, and love for people.”
gwangjunewsgic.com
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ot only is Mudeungsan National Park a feast for the eyes and a burn on the thighs, but nestled within it lies an artistic delight: the works of Heo Baek-ryeon (허백련). A prolific Korean artist highly talented in painting, calligraphy, and poetry, he is regarded as one of the last masters of Korean Scholar painting.
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