Painting What Talks to Him

By Kang “Jennis” Hyunsuk

In this article for People in the Arts, I introduce Kim Ho-suk, who is having an invitational exhibition at the Gwangju Museum of Art throughout the summer. The artist’s warm gaze at his growing children, aging wife, and aged parents conveys emotion to those who view his paintings. He also metaphorically expresses the absurdity of our society through animals and insects. Artist Kim Ho-suk has found a way to make traditional Korean paper, hanji, accommodate in his paintings the portrait technique of the Joseon Dynasty period. I was able to interview him in Seoul’s Sinchon District at around the time he finished his work. The artist keeps working hours from 9–3 as a daily routine. Here is what we discussed.

Jennis: Thank you for this interview for People in the Arts in the Gwangju News. I was really moved by your exhibition at the Gwangju Museum of Art, which led to my asking for this interview. Kim Ho-suk: Thank you for coming all this way.

Jennis: This is a question I always ask when I interview an artist: I wonder what motivated you to become an artist. What was your childhood like?

Kim Ho-suk: I spent my childhood in Jeongeup in Jeollabuk-do. My great-great-grandfather, Chunujeong, Kim Young-Sang (1836–1911), who was a Confucian scholar, refused the monetary award given by the Japanese government for conciliation after the merger of Korea and Japan in 1910. He was arrested for committing blasphemy against the emperor of Japan for biting the arm of the Japanese police