Lee Yil. Dynamics of Expansion and Reduction – Selected Writings on Korean Contemporary Art

Première publication majeure en anglais consacrée au critique et historien d'art coréen Lee Yil, ce recueil regroupe des textes d'esthétique, de théorie et d'histoire de l'art, écrits par le principal observateur du « Dansaekhwa », la peinture monochrome coréenne d'après-guerre. Il rassemble également des essais et des préfaces monographiques ayant permis de mettre en avant les travaux d'artistes actifs depuis la fin de la guerre de Corée jusqu'au milieu des années 1990.

Pilotée par l'AICA – L'Association internationale des critiques d'art, la collection d'ouvrages « Art Critics of the World » a pour objectif de faire découvrir au plus grand nombre les travaux de critiques internationaux hors de leurs frontières.

Lee Yil (1932-1997), né à Gangseo, Pyeongannum-do (en actuelle Corée du Nord), est l'un des critiques d'art coréen les plus influents de l'après-guerre. Jusqu'à sa mort en 1997, il a enseigné l'histoire de l'art et la critique d'art à l'Université Hongik tout en continuant son travail de critique. Lee Yil a notamment écrit des articles sur la participation des artistes coréens à la Biennale de Paris ainsi que des essais et des monographies consacrés à l'art abstrait et expérimental coréen. Il a plus particulièrement accompagné les artistes du mouvement « Dansaekhwa » tels que Park Seo-bo, Ha Chong-hyun, Chung Sang-hwa, Chung Chang-sup, Yun Hyong-keun, Kim Tschang-yeul, Lee Kang-so, Kwon Youngwoo, Suh Seung-won et Choi Myung-young.

Préface de Marek Bartelik.
Introduction de Jean Marc Poinsot
Texte de Chung Yeon-shim.

paru en février 2018

édition anglaise

17 x 23 cm (broché)

216 pages (ill. n&b)

18.00 €

ISBN : 978-2-84066-972-2

EAN : 9782840669722

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Conceived as part of the on-going “Art Critics of the World” series, a publication of anthologies organized by the International Organization of Art Critics (AICA) to celebrate and introduce texts by critics “who best represent their countries” and yet, remain internationally under acknowledged, Lee Yil: Dynamics of Expansion and Reduction is an important addition to the growing studies on modern and contemporary art of Korea. It is the first major publication in English devoted to the Korean critic and art historian Lee Yil (1932-1997), who is best known as a key proponent of “Dansaekhwa”, or Korean monochrome painting. Lee began to fully engage in art criticism in the early 1960s, when he took part as the commissioner of the Paris Biennale in 1961 while studying at theSorbonne. As one of the few critics who had keen awareness and understanding of the“local” and “international” art and its discourses, Lee became one of the most influential and prolific writers in Korea. The anthology is based on a comprehensive two-volume publication of Lee Yil’s writings, first published in 2013 in Korean. Selected and translated texts are similarly organized in two parts: the first section includes a collection of essays on aesthetics, theory, and history of art; and the other, a compilation of more brief, monographic writings on the works by individual artists. Covering the period between the 1970s and the early 1990s, the compiled texts reveal underlining themes and concerns that the critic engaged with throughout his career, such as the issue of “re-discovering the tradition”, “representation of Korean aesthetics”, and the “mediation between theWest and East”. They also offer valuable insight into the variety of contemporaneousAmerican, European (especially French), and Japanese discourses Lee referenced. It is worth noting that the book’s title is taken from an essay written by Lee for the inaugural issue of the magazine published by the experimental collective known as the Avant-Garde Group (or A.G.), which Lee founded together with critic Oh Kwang-su and ten other artists in 1969. Considering the diversity of roles Lee played as a critic, educator, commissioner, and an art historian, who not only wrote, but organized and supported a number of important collectives that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, the book may seem limited inits scope, focusing primarily on Dansaekhwa and Lee’s texts on the movement’s leading artists. Having said this, it nonetheless serves as an important contribution to the growing initiative to make primary documents from Non-western countries more internationally accessible.

Organised by AICA - the International Association of Art Critics, the collection of works "Art Critics of the World" aims to make the work of international critics known to the greatest number of people outside their own borders. Lee Yil (1932-1997), born in Gangseo, Pyeongannum-do (now North Korea), is one of the most influential Korean art critics of the post-war period. Until his death in 1997, he taught art history and art criticism at Hongik University while continuing his work as a critic. Lee Yil wrote articles on the participation of Korean artists in the Biennale de Paris, as well as essays and monographs on Korean abstract and experimental art. In particular, he has accompanied artists of the "Dansaekhwa" movement such as Park Seo-bo, Ha Chong-hyun, Chung Sang-hwa, Chung Chang-sup, Yun Hyong-keun, Kim Tschang-yeul, Lee Kang-so, Kwon Youngwoo, Suh Seung-won and Choi Myung-young.

Preface by Marek Bartelik

Introduction by Jean Marc Poinsot

Text by Chung Yeon-Shim.

published in February 2018

English version

17 x 23 cm (stapled)

216 pages (ill. b&w)  

18.00 €  

ISBN: 978-2-84066-972-2

EAN: 9782840669722