Park Rehyun (,1920–1976) was a

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

painter. She is regarded as a pioneer of modern

Korean art Korean arts include traditions in calligraphy, music, painting and pottery, often marked by the use of natural forms, surface decoration and bold colors or sounds. The earliest examples of Korean art consist of Stone Age works dating from 300 ...

during the late Japanese Colonial period and the following decades.

Biography

Park was born in the city of Jinnampo in South Korea's

South Pyongan Province South Pyongan Province (Phyŏngannamdo; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Pyongan Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Korea. Its c ...

. Graduating from Gyeongseong high school in 1937, she entered the Tokyo Women's School of Fine Arts in 1941 during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Park married a celebrated artist,

Kim Ki-chang Kim Ki-chang (김기창, 金基昶, 18th February 1913- 23rd January 2001), pen name Unbo (운보, 雲甫), was a Korean artist of the twentieth century. Active from the colonial period, Kim Ki-chang learned painting and calligraphy from artist ...

, with whom she presented exhibitions and private showcases, helped highlight her work though she was already beginning her journey by herself. Her works sought to use oriental materials to provide for western-style artwork. A pioneering woman painter, she rejected prejudices against women and completed her own paintings with passion. Her youngest daughter, who is a nun in South Korea, said in an interview that she had spent her life as a good mother, as well as a committed painter and wife. In 1976, Park died of liver cancer at her residence in

Seongbuk District Seongbuk District (Seongbuk-gu) is one of the 25 '' gu'' which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. It is located in the mid-north part of the city. The current Mayor is Kim Young-bae (김영배), who has been mayor since July 1, 2010. Seongbuk ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

Works

She made her debut by being accepted to the Chosen Art exhibition of the

Governor-General of Korea Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

in 1943. Later, she was awarded the first prize given by the President of the Republic of Korea and grand prize in the National Art exhibition of Korea, gaining her wider attention. She participated in domestic art exhibitions until the early 1960s and then flew to São Paulo Biennale as an official South Korean delegate. After finishing her work, she visited several nations in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

, including

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, then studied tapestry and

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techni ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. Briefly, her works can be separated into 4 time periods. The first (1940s) concentrated on Japanese paintings and figure paintings. The second (1950s) challenged her own work with traditional materials of oriental painting in a western-drawing manner; her pieces at this time produced half-abstract paintings by interpreting cubism and partition of the canvas in an analytic method. The third phase (1960s) began experimenting abstractionism, and the fourth period (1970s) made use of printmaking skills in creative drawing.Park Raebu, 《한국의 명화》, p.109, 1993

Notes

* 韓國現代作家十人(吳光洙, 悅話堂, 1977) * 雨鄕朴崍賢(庚美文化社, 1978)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Raehyeon 1920 births 1976 deaths South Korean painters People from Nampo South Korean women Deaths from liver cancer 20th-century Korean painters South Korean women artists 20th-century women artists South Korean people of North Korean origin