From Royal Panels to Folk Paintings: Exhibition Traces Roots of K-Culture in Minhwa
Creatrip Team
a month ago
A new exhibition, “Solemnity and Creativity: Variations of Korean Minhwa,” opened at Gallery Hyundai in Seoul, bringing together 27 works that showcase both court painting and folk aesthetics. The show contrasts high-level commissioned works—like the imperial twin-dragon painting (Ssangryong Huiju-do) and aristocratic still lifes (chaekgeori)—with popular 민화 (minhwa, folk paintings) such as the playful magpie-and-tiger image (kkachi-horang-i) that downplays the tiger’s ferocity. Large decorative screens including a phoenix-and-peacock folding screen and an 8-panel fish-and-crab painting (ehaedo) highlight minhwa’s bright colors, humorous exaggeration, and use as home decor (screens and hanging scrolls). A companion display, “Hwaido,” features 75 contemporary works by six artists reinterpreting court and folk motifs. The exhibitions run through Feb. 28 and illuminate how traditional motifs helped shape today’s globally popular K-culture.
