Monk’s Art Floats on Water and in Air: 87-Year-Old Seongpa’s Relentless Creativity
Creatrip Team
6 months ago
Seongpa, the 87-year-old principal monk (jongjeong) of the Jogye Order, opened a retrospective titled “Seon Art” at the Gyeonggi Provincial Museum to mark its 30th anniversary. The show presents about 150 works spanning four thematic sections and four decades of his practice at Tongdosa, including some 90 new lacquer (otchil) paintings created in the past year. Highlights include ceramic Buddhas he fired himself in the 1980s, a monumental 160,000-piece ceramic Tripitaka (daejanggyeong) project, indigo-dyed paper with gilded Heart Sutra calligraphy (gamji), and immersive lacquer works displayed on walls, submerged in water, hung from ceilings, and planned for drone-suspended aerial display. The water gallery invites quiet meditation as lit lacquer pieces appear like lotus blossoms; the drone idea was delayed by a technical fault but the monk, who even earned a drone license, plans to try again. Dignitaries and cultural figures attended the busy opening. Seongpa emphasizes art as the footprint of a life and urges perseverance and willpower; the exhibition is free through May 31.
