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CHESTER BEATTY LIBRARY, DUBLIN Te Library is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founder’s death this year by hosting two major exhibitions and there are plans to launch the Chester Beatty collection online before the end of the year. Beatty moved to Dublin after the


ASIAN ART MARCH 2018


Te bronze mirror was found at the Nakashima archaeological site in Fukuoka’s Hakata Ward. Made in China during the later Han dynasty, between 25 to 220, and measures about four and a half inches across. Inscribed on the surface are the words chang yi zisun, which translates as ‘to benefit future generations forever’. It was not found in a tomb, so the mirror may have been used in religious rites,’ commented Hidenori Okamura, a professor of Chinese archaeology at Kyoto University. Te mirror was excavated last year alongside earthenware representing the middle to late Yayoi pottery culture, which corresponds to between 300 BC to AD300.


GUARDIAN ART CENTER, BEIJING Te Guardian Art Center is considered to be the world’s first ever custom-built auction house, creating a new typology of a hybrid arts institution in the heart of Beijing. Offering museum-quality galleries and conservation facilities, the building is also a community resource with restaurants, a hotel, flexible events spaces, and integrated public transport infrastructure.


Kim Guiline By Olivia Sand


Although Kim Guiline’s career spans more than five decades, it is only recently that he has gained international recognition. Indeed, Western collectors and institutions have just begun, a few years ago, to go beyond their interest in contemporary art from Korea and explore the art scene of Korea from the 1950s onwards. One of the key movements of that time was Dansaekhwa, which was established either in mid-1950s, or the mid-1970s according to some sources, brought the work of its members to international attention. Kim Guiline (b 1936, Korea), although based in France, has been associated with this movement as his work has, over time, followed a similar path to those of his counterparts in Korea. Seen as a response to the dictatorship, Dansaekhwa’s aim was to create works, mainly abstract, that were neutral in terms of content, allowing artists to continue to paint in a difficult atmosphere. Over the years, the artist restricted forms and palette to reach a stage of monochrome paintings that echoed his rich poetic interior universe. Looking back, he discusses his career from the moment he arrived in France in the early 1960s.


means, I found a way to express my feelings. Tis is why and how I happened to be associated with Dansaekhwa, as I belonged to the same generation of artists and happened to know most of them. I met them when they came to Paris and exchanged ideas with them. My being included in the movement somehow happened naturally.


Kim Guiline. Photo: Olivia Sand


ASIAN ART NEWSPAPER: Your work is always associated with Dansaekhwa. Are you still following the movement’s motto and main criteria? KIM GUILINE: I have never really thought about the movement. At the time, I was in Paris – I did not graduate from art school in Seoul. I originally wanted to become a poet, as in my opinion, poetry is the summit of art: a poet relies on very few words to get his message across. Tis is what I really wanted to do, but as I encountered limitations with the French language, I chose to work with colour instead. In that sense, I was not really a co-founder of Dansaekhwa, but with very few


AAN: Your decision to enrol in French language studies in the 1960s in Korea was very avant- garde. Ultimately, was it languages that also led you towards art? KG: I wanted to be a poet and had written various poems in Korean. I arrived in Paris in 1961, settled in Dijon where I found an art history teacher who encouraged me a great deal and it is thanks to them that I began painting. I had an exhibition in Dijon in 1965, selling various paintings – three pieces were acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts in Dijon. Tat was wonderful encouragement which led to me to enrolling at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. I then continued with an additional curriculum at the Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Tere, I learned the art of restoration, which became a regular job, because it was very difficult to make a living just from painting. I graduated from the Art Décoratifs in 1971 and then worked for the Forney Library and the National Library in Paris whilst continuing to paint. Subsequently I had a successful show in 1976 with


NEWS IN BRIEF


Second World War, when his collection had evolved into one of the finest private collections of rare books, manuscripts and decorative arts in the world. In October, a major exhibition will showcase the best of the collection, including the earliest Qur’an by one of Islam’s greatest calligraphers, copied in Baghdad in the year 1001 by Ibn al-Bawwab, a 17th-century Japanese Chogonka scroll and other masterpieces from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.


INK ART WEEK, VENICE A week- long programme of events in Venice, to be held between 17-20 April, is dedicated to discovering new perspectives and trends in the field of Chinese contemporary ink art, bringing the public in direct contact with artists and scholars. Te event includes a four-day conference, hosted by Ca’Foscari University, includes lectures, performances and workshops. Te schedule will be published mid-March on inkhub.it


NINE DOMES MOSQUE, AFGHANISTAN In the dusty plains of northern Afghanistan, archaeologists are seeking to unravel the secrets of one of the oldest mosques in the world, whose structure is still standing after a 1,000 years of solitude. Te Nine Domes Mosque, named for the cupolas that once crowned its intricately decorated columns, still retains remnants of the lapis lazuli stones that once encrusted it. Carbon dating in early 2017 suggests the ancient structure in Balkh


province was built in the 8th century, soon after Islam swept into Central Asia, but exactly when, and who by, remains a mystery. However, the mosque could be even older, with other carbon dating and historical sources suggesting it could have been built as early as the year 794. ‘Tis means that the mosque of the Abassid Empire has been influenced by Afghanistan, not the other way around,’ said Julio Sarmiento- Bendezu, director of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan, who is leading excavations at the site.


KOREAN CULTURAL CENTRE, HONG KONG Te Korean Cultural Centre (KCC) in Hong Kong has opened at the PMQ buildings and marks the establishment of the 32nd KCC worldwide, with the objectives to promote Korean culture across the globe, KCC provides a variety of special programmes for local residents to experience Korean culture first hand.


SERPENTINE IN BEIJING Modelled on the Serpentine’s annual Pavilion Commission in London’s Royal Park of Kensington Gardens, the inaugural Serpentine Pavilion Beijing will launch in May 2018 at the opening of WF Central on Wangfujing in Beijing’s Dongcheng District. Te lead architect, Liu Jakun, says the new structure takes inspiration from Confucianism with an architecture that is a physical


representation of the traditional pursuit of Junzi. Te pavilion will be in place for six months.


SPRING AUCTIONS, HK Te Sotheby’s Spring series of sales runs from 29 March to 3 April at the Hong Kong Convention Centre and includes Fine Classical Chinese Paintings, Modern Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, Fine Chinese Painting, Important Chinese Art. A highlight includes a ruby-ground yangcai vase, seal mark and period of Qianlong, estimated at HK$40-60 million. Bonhams auctions, in Admiralty,


are: Ritual + Culture, Fine Southeast Asian Arts on 29 March; Fine Classical Chinese Paintings from the Zhen Shang Zhai Collection on 3 April; and Fine Chinese Paintings also on 3 April.


JAMEEL PRIZE 5 Te V&A in London has announced the shortlist for Jameel Prize 5, the international prize for contemporary artists and designers inspired by Islamic tradition. Eight finalists have been shortlisted for the £25,000 prize, which is awarded every two years. Tey are: Kamrooz Aram, Hayv Kahraman, Hala Kaiksow, Mehdi Moutashar, naqsh collective, Younes Rahmoun, Wardha Shabbir and Marina Tabassum. Te Prize returns to the V&A on 27 June 2018 when the winner will be announced. Te accompanying exhibition, showcasing the work of the eight shortlisted artists and designers, runs from 28 June until 25 November.


Durand Dessert. At the start of 1985, I returned to Seoul where I had an exhibition in a gallery that was considered very avant-garde. Tat is how I became known as being part of Dansaekhwa, but at the time, I was not aware that it had become a movement.


AAN: Initially, how did your fascination with the French language begin? KG: Trough poetry.


AAN: At the time, did you go to France on a scholarship? KG: As is the custom in Korea, the eldest brother is in charge of his siblings. In order to go to France, my older brother helped me financially, provided that I finish my thesis and return to Korea to teach. However, two years after being in Dijon, I gave up the idea of finishing my thesis. My brother was furious and cut all financial support. Terefore, I had no choice other than taking care of myself and becoming independent.


AAN: In your opinion, what triggered the sudden interest in the movement, considering it started more than 40 years ago? KG: Dansaekhwa was a movement created at a time when members of the group wanted to accomplish something new within painting. I do not understand why this sudden interest in the group is taking place now. With regards to artists of the


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