Profile 3


Asian Art Newspaper: You were a pioneer who went from Seoul to live in Paris in the 1960s, when it was not the norm to do so. Arriving in France would certainly have represented a major contrast to South Korea. Kim Yun Shin: Tat is right. I went to Paris approximately 10 years after the Korean War (1950-1953), which had left the country in ruins. Korea had been divided into North and South in 1948. It was neither common nor easy for a woman, who was not married, to go abroad and study in Paris without any connections. As for my family, my brother only agreed to let me study abroad on the condition that I would not depend on my nieces or nephews, even when I got older. However, I was most pleasantly surprised when I arrived in Paris, because I found that women like me – and many other female artists from all over the world – were in fact working independently. At that time, Paris was truly the centre of the global art world with international artists and students coming together there. I entered the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts as a sculpture major and attended classes for about a year. One day, Professor George Adams praised my work in class, but for some reason, the next day, the work was nowhere to be found. I was tremendously disappointed, searching for it for several days without finding it. Since the professor subsequently did not show up to class for a while, I was left lost and confused. One of my undergraduate classmates, Suk Ran Hi (b 1939), recommended I change my major and learn lithography instead, which I did until I returned to Korea.


AAN: What led you to leave Korea in the 1960s? Did you feel that it was too traditional, or were there other motives that encouraged you? KYS: After graduating from college, I wanted to continue studying my major, but there was no graduate school in Korea that I wanted to attend. I therefore wrote letters to people who had already gone to Paris, including Professors Han Mook (1914-2016) and Moon Shin (1923-1995). Tey not only encouraged me, but also advised me to attend the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Professor Han Mook, in particular, was very confident in my ability and I remember him saying that ‘with my extremely eager and nit-picky personality, I was more than qualified to make this happen!’ My professors were convinced that I would benefit from my time in Paris,


Treasured Views:


The Stipanich Collection of Kawase Hasui Woodblock Prints


September 12–20, 2024 Untitled lithograph, circa 1960s


learning the attitude and technique of feeling and expressing everything without socio-political boundaries. Te freedom to express oneself became a paramount advantage, as it allowed me to explore boundless creative territories. Education in Paris emphasised the importance of originality. I subsequently tried to do something only I could do – something that did not yet exist in the world.


AAN: Was this new life and work ethic challenging? KYS: Yes, it was tremendously challenging, as I wanted my works to be unique and I wanted to use traditional materials from Korea. In my sculptural work, for example, I relied on dried calabash (bottle gourd), whereas in lithography, I reverted to traditional Korean hanji paper instead of printmaking paper. I found lithography to be extremely enjoyable, yet demanding, all the more as I had to go through multiple failures before finishing a piece with satisfaction. Tinking about it now, I realise that as an artist, there is nothing in this world that only I can do! Te one thing that truly matters is the time I spent searching passionately for my uniqueness and this is a challenge that continues today.


AAN: Did you pursue different media, say lithography, painting, and sculpture during that time? KYS: In addition to sculpture, I worked with drawings, collages, and lithographs. Some of my work was created by connecting wood pieces, while other works included pieces of stone from the repair process of the Arc de Triomphe, egg boxes picked up at the night market, and discarded glass bottles. Tere was also a work where the outer


Continued on page 4


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Song of My Soul 2016-75 (2016), signed on recto, oil and acrylic on canvas, 47.24 x 59.06 x 1 inches


ASIAN ART | SEPTEMBER 2024


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