Now In Korea
Painter Completes Lost Upper Body of Ancient Buddha in Monumental 'Korea Fantasy' Exhibit
Creatrip Team
a month ago
At the Solgeo Museum in Gyeongju, veteran Korean painter Park Dae-sung unveiled a 15m x 5m panorama titled "Korea Fantasy" (2023) that stitches together iconic Korean landscapes and cultural symbols—from Baekdusan's heaven lake and Jeju's Seongsan Ilchulbong to Goguryeo tomb murals and the smiling Silla face tile (Gyeongju face-pattern roof tile). The museum’s new exhibition “Silla Han-hyang” (Silla’s Korean fragrance), running through April 26 next year, features four artists interpreting Silla culture and Buddhist worldview. Park also painted a 5m-bodied reconstruction of a damaged stone Banjagasa-yu (Boddhisattva pensive statue) modeled on the fragmented Bonghwa Bukjiri sculpture, imaginatively restoring its missing upper body. Glass artist Park Seon-min installed 250 blown glass bottles evoking Silla glass beads and reliquaries transported via the Silk Road. Monk-painter Songcheon presented a work pairing Avalokiteshvara and Mary to convey coexistence and universal love, while Kim Min used tourmaline-ground black backgrounds with gold and silver leaf to depict Silla pagodas and the Seokguram Buddha, reflecting a millennium of Silla aspirations. Additional APEC-related shows across Gyeongju highlight Korean modern and contemporary works, including pieces by Nam June Paik and exhibitions at Oare Museum.
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