Gyeomjae Jeong Seon Preserved by Gansong to Be Showcased in a Large-Scale Exhibition After Half a Century

Gansong Art and Culture Foundation to Hold Second-Half Exhibitions and Events for the 120th Anniversary of Jeon Hyung-pil's Birth
Gyeomjae Jeong Seon Exhibition at Daegu Gansong Art Museum in September; "Sangseo" Exhibition at Seoul Gansong Art Museum in October

The Gansong Art and Culture Foundation will hold special exhibitions and commemorative events in Seoul and Daegu in the second half of the year to mark the 120th anniversary of the birth of Gansong Jeon Hyung-pil.

Promotional image for the 120th anniversary of Kansong. Kansong Art and Culture Foundation

The foundation announced on the 10th that, to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Gansong Jeon Hyung-pil's birth in 2026 (the year of Byeongo), it will host exhibitions, performances, special lectures, and citizen participation programs at the Gansong Art Museum and the Daegu Gansong Art Museum. The event aims to share, in everyday life, the value of the cultural heritage that Gansong protected throughout his life and the spirit of "Cultural Enrichment of the Nation."

This year, the main exhibitions for the second half will be divided between Daegu and Seoul. The Daegu Gansong Art Museum will present a special exhibition titled "Gyeomjae Jeong Seon" from September to December. This exhibition will focus on the artistic world of Gyeomjae Jeong Seon, who, along with Chusa Kim Jeonghui, holds an important place in the Gansong Collection.

Gyeomjae Jeong Seon was the first artist selected for the Gansong Art Museum's inaugural public exhibition in 1971. For this large-scale retrospective being held again after half a century, the foundation plans to showcase a significant number of Gyeomjae Jeong Seon's works from the Gansong Collection, including a full public display of paintings from "Gyeonggyo Myeongseungcheop" and "Haeak Jeonsincheop."

At the Gansong Art Museum in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, a commemorative exhibition titled "Sangseo" will be held from October to November to mark the 120th anniversary of Gansong Jeon Hyung-pil's birth. "Sangseo" refers to the inscription on a paulownia box used to store important works. The exhibition will highlight how items in the Gansong Collection were acquired, their storage history, and preservation methods, based on the records left on the sangseo.

Through this "Sangseo" exhibition, the foundation plans to re-examine Gansong not merely as a collector, but as a planner who envisioned the preservation, research, and exhibition system of Korea's cultural heritage, and as a cultural independence activist who defended the nation through culture during the Japanese colonial period.

Cultural commemorative events will also follow. On the 18th, an open music concert featuring Suseong Artpia and Germany's Karlsruhe State Theater will be held at the stone courtyard of the Daegu Gansong Art Museum. On the 25th, the Daegu City Korean Traditional Music Orchestra will host a celebratory performance. On the actual anniversary, the 29th, Gansong Art Museum Director Jeon Ingeon will give a lecture on "Gansong's Cultural Heritage and the Cultural Enrichment of the 21st Century," and architect Professor Yoo Hyunjun will deliver a special lecture titled "Gansong, City, and Art Museum."

At the end of August, a photo contest related to the Gansong Art Museum and Gansong Jeon Hyung-pil will begin. This program aims to collect memories from citizens about the Gansong Art Museum, which originated as Bohwagak. Selected photos will be released in October through the Gansong Art Museum's VR online exhibition. In November, a talk concert featuring Director Jeon Ingeon is also planned in Seoul.

Director Jeon Ingeon stated, "The name and meaning of Gansong, as well as his life's work, continue to this day and transcend generations," adding, "This 120th anniversary of Gansong's birth marks the beginning of a new 60 years for the Gansong Art and Culture Foundation."

He continued, "Based on the research and preservation accumulated so far, we will do our best to make our cultural heritage even more accessible and enjoyable in everyday life."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.