Iconic artist Chun Kyung-ja reevaluated at Seoul Museum exhibition

▲ "The Shade of Allamanda I" by late artist Chun Kyung-ja is on display in the exhibition hall of the Seoul Museum in the capital city on Sept. 23, 2025. (Yonhap)

By Woo Jae-yeon

   SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- The Seoul Museum is set to open a major posthumous retrospective highlighting the diverse art of late artist Chun Kyung-ja (1924-2015), one of the country's most prominent female artists, who pioneered an unconventional path with her colorful and fantastical paintings.

   Titled "The 101st Page of My Sad Legend," the exhibition marks the 10th anniversary of her death. It is the artist's largest show since her final 2006 exhibition, "The 82 Beautiful Pages of My Life."

▲ Late artist Chun Kyung-ja is seen in this photo displayed at the Seoul Museum in the capital city on Sept. 23, 2025. (Yonhap)

▲ "Woman" by late artist Chun Kyung-ja is on display in the exhibition hall of the Seoul Museum in the capital city on Sept. 23, 2025. (Yonhap)

   The new exhibition brings together some 80 color paintings -- the most important genre of her artistic career -- in addition to a diverse collection of archival materials, including her writings and book illustrations. 

   The museum said Tuesday the event aims to reevaluate her legacy, particularly as "the first Korean artist" to donate the copyrights of her works to society.

   Ahn Byung-gwang, the museum's founder, shared the emotional weight behind the exhibition. "At a time when it can take a lifetime to build a reputation but only a second to lose it, the thought that our opportunity to reevaluate was expiring was heart-wrenching," he said.

   "That is the reason we have prepared this exhibition," he added.

▲ "Spring Rain" by late artist Chun Kyung-ja is on display in the exhibition hall of the Seoul Museum in the capital city on Sept. 23, 2025. (Yonhap)

   Renowned as one of the country's most original painters, Chun was celebrated for her unique artistic world filled with fantasy and mythical elements, especially her soulful portraits of women. But at the same time, she was one of the country's most dramatic art figures, famously at the center of a baffling forgery scandal that began in 1991.

   Chun abruptly left the Korean art scene in the mid-1990s after becoming embroiled in the dispute over a painting she vehemently argued was not hers, a claim that faced strong counterclaims from art critics who insisted on its authenticity. 

   "My work is like my own blood, infused with my soul. What parent would ever fail to recognize their own child? I did not paint that picture," She famously declared of the painting in question. 

   In 1998, she donated over 90 pieces of her paintings and their copyrights to the Seoul Museum of Art, asking that they be preserved for people to enjoy.

▲ "Door of Youth" by late artist Chun Kyung-ja is on display in the exhibition hall of the Seoul Museum in the capital city on Sept. 23, 2025. (Yonhap)

   While best known for her portraits of women, the exhibition also highlights the breadth of her work.

   Among those is "Spring Rain," a 1966 painting of her hometown, Goheung, a southwestern costal county in South Jeolla Province. Rendered in luminous blue tones, the work evokes a dreamlike atmosphere by weaving together a rich composition of dynamic waves, fishing boats, women balancing baskets on their heads, fully blossomed trees and mountain scenery.

   Other works reveal her love for cinema. A film enthusiast who once dreamed of acting, Chun found comfort in painting subjects from the film industry. 

   Her piece, "Door of Youth," is modeled after the enigmatic Swedish-born American actress Greta Garbo (1905-90), the iconic Swedish-born American actress, while her 1973 painting, "Pansy," portrays Marilyn Monroe. 

   "The 101st Page of My Sad Legend" opens Wednesday and runs through Jan. 25.

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