Interviews, Issue 7

In Minds Of: Yoo Youngkuk

A trailblazing Korean artist whose visionary abstraction and pursuit of freedom defined a transformative era

Words VALENTINA BUZZI

In modern Korean art history, the figure of Yoo Youngkuk stands as a testament to the transformative power of artistic experimentation and the resilience of the human spirit. With his highest value recognized in freedom, he was — and still is — considered one of Korea’s most beloved pioneers in the visual arts. His paintings, often defined as a mesmerizing blend of visionary exploration and intimate self-reflection, unravel the complexities of an artist whose life unfolded amidst a tumultuous moment in history and a consequent ever-evolving backdrop. As we embark on a journey through Yoo Youngkuk’s artistic figure, we delve into the realms of avant-garde abstraction, the influence of the diverse landscapes in which he lived, and the indomitable spirit that shaped his career.

Delving deeper into the artist’s personality, career, and life is aided by personal stories unfolding in conversations with Jin Yu, Yoo’s eldest son and president of the Yoo Youngkuk Foundation, as well as art critic, curator, and professor Ihnbum Lee. Lee has organized many of Yoo’s shows, including the relevant monograph “Early Abstraction of You Youngkuk” (1999), and contributed to the establishment of the foundation. Through their words, we discover meaningful moments that defined his career, the stories behind his most beloved paintings, and learn about his unique attitude that recognized freedom as one of the most important values, at a moment in history where gaining it was an unconventional and courageous act.

VALENTINA BUZZI: There are many aspects that I would like to delve into, but first of all, I would like to ask you about your relationship with Yoo Youngkuk, and how you would describe his figure based on your proximity to him.

JIN YU: As a father, he was pretty much like other fathers in Korea at the time, who went through turbulent times. Yoo was a man of few words, and hardly spoke about personal matters, or something past. However, he was very kind and generous in heart. For example, when I asked him for advice for my future career, he consulted me with sincerity, which was very helpful. He was quite aloof in family affairs, and hardly interfered in my daily life. It was my mother’s job to take care of all family work and children’s education. After I entered college, I began to understand him as a man. There were times when he was disappointed and got angry with the realities he faced, but he always went to his atelier to work as usual with defiance. He was a very decisive man with strong will power and intuition about reality. In that sense, he did not belong to the stereotype of artists who are naïve and emotional. All the family members thought that he was very much like a tall pine tree standing alone on the mountain top in Uljin. I have never met a person who can work in a profession that provides no income until they reach 60 years old with such determination and perseverance.

IHNBUM LEE: My significant first encounter with Yoo Youngkuk was during the Modern Asian Paintings: Birth and Development of Oil Painting exhibition (1997, Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, among others), jointly organized by Japan, China, and Korea, where I served as the Korean commissioner for artwork submissions and negotiations. Moved by his reserved yet firm and conviction-filled attitude as an artist, I started researching and curating exhibitions about his art.

VB: There is something about Yoo Youngkuk’s life that I find remarkable. Throughout his seven-year-long period, between Japan and Korea, Yoo founded and joined various artistic groups representing the various stylistic avant-garde of his times. Since the 1950s, when returned to Korea, he also devoted himself to expanding people’s appreciation for art. It seems that not only did he devote himself entirely to art, but was also committed to making others realize the importance of art as a field.

JY: Since his return to Korea, Yoo was regarded as a leader and a visionary in his field, because he was the first abstract painter and there was no one preceding him with avant-garde experience. He had a progressive and idealistic view on art, and defied the National Exhibition openly, which was ministered by the art establishment and often accused of cronyism. His progressive mind and decisive personality garnered respect from colleges, and he was commended as the representative of contemporary artists in 1960. Under such circumstances, he started fine art movements not interfered with by the government and tried to establish an alternative that could provide more opportunities to aspiring young artists. However, such efforts were discontinued when he decided the course of his action and pursued his own art world in 1963.

When he passed away in 2002, the media described him as the paragon of professional artists. I think it referred to his stubborn and uncompromising attitude in his pursuit of art, and strong work ethic and regimen as a professional at a time when such attempts looked impossible and even silly.

IL: After returning to Korea, the formation of Sinsasil-pa (New Realism Group) became an essential driving force for Yoo Youngkuk’s group activities, which were indispensable for the innovations in art. From his first solo exhibition in 1964 onwards, his art was closely associated with the movement to innovate the outdated art structure and environment of the institution-centric art world through group exhibitions. Yoo Youngkuk, through various forms of group activities at different times, consistently raised pertinent issues, leading the development of modern and contemporary Korean art. Thanks to his contributions, the perception of painting shifted from being considered a leisure activity of the ruling class to an active, professional pursuit reflecting the historical reality in Korea. Considering the conventional amateurish literati painting tradition, this marks a significant transformation.

VB: I wonder how Yoo Youngkuk’s life must have been in Uljin, and then in Seoul and Tokyo — I feel like the city’s vibrancy and his roots in the calmness of the mountains and the East Sea merge uniquely into his work. If I had to ask you about a leading defining moment for Yoo Youngkuk’s career as a painter, what would be your answer?

JY: I can think of two moments in his career. The first one was in 1955, when Yoo decided to resume his painting career after a decade-long break when the brewery business was going just fine. At the time, he was 39 years old, which was quite a late age for a professional to start or change the course of his career. The second one was in 1963 when Yoo declared his departure from group activities to pursue his own art world. Since then, he dedicated himself single-mindedly to studying abstract painting through various experiments on colors, forms, and compositions and created the unique art we see today.

IL: I agree that Yoo Youngkuk’s time in Uljin-Seoul-Tokyo wasn’t perceived as a distinct place for him. Despite each place being vastly different, they were not separate entities within his art. Uljin served as the foundation and land of his life, Tokyo as a place where he dreamed of transcending the constraints of reality, and Seoul, a lifelong hub of activity, as a tangible space balancing reality and dreams, resonating with each other and creating tension.

VB: I read that before departing to Japan, Yoo Youngkuk asked his parents to buy him a camera, an object that at that time was very expensive but that allowed further perspectives of observation and practice for artists. It’s said that he did photography his entire life. I would love to tackle this lesser-known aspect.

JY: During World War II in Japan, artists were forced to work on documentary war paintings. Hasegawa Saburo, a close associate of Yoo Youngkuk, unwilling to comply with the policy, chose to work on photography instead. Presumably, for a similar reason, Yoo completed the photography class at the Oriental Photography School in Tokyo (1940) and exhibited photo works at the sixth exhibition of the Association of Art Creators (formerly AFA) which portrayed mostly historical remains of Gyeongju, the old capital of the Silla dynasty. Photography was a life-long hobby of Yoo’s, who later in life mentioned that he learned photography because he thought photographers had better chances of finding jobs than artists during the wartime.

The Avant-Garde movement was suppressed in Japan in the early 1940s. However, artistic expression persevered, whether or not it was done as a protest. Yoo utilized photography as a medium during this time and also sometimes as a building block for his paintings.

VB: I’m curious to ask you about how you would describe his attitude and character in life and art.

IL: The painter Yoo Youngkuk’s guiding principles were clearly revealed in his early decision to drop out of high school, displaying adventurous spirit, courage, and firmness in exploring his future path. Initially, Yoo Youngkuk decided to withdraw from school to study in Japan to become a sailor, just before graduating from the No. 2 High School of Gyeongseong (now called Kyungbok Middle and High School) after being physically punished by a Japanese homeroom teacher for not denouncing his classmates’ misdeeds as the class president. Interestingly, realizing that he couldn’t enroll in a maritime school due to insufficient academic credentials resulting from his dropout, he boldly chose the path of a painter. Both seemingly disparate professions were considered as not so different from each other in his pursuit of freedom. The keyword characterizing his entire artistic life was ‘freedom.’ As an artist, his choices were consistently clear and resolute, always moving towards new imagination and creativity.