Art Asia Delhi debuts with cross-cultural showcase of Asian creativity

New Delhi, Sep 26 (PTI) Korean artist Sung Jae Lee’s art work “Broken Water” emerged from the news of his pregnant wife going into labour in Seoul while he was in the US in 2022. Anxious and thousands of miles away, Sung Jae decided to use the moment to create a piece in his "Floating Drawing" series.

He lifted 2-dimensional drawings from the paper and hanged them from nylon and polyester threads in a 3-dimensional representation to create a hemispherical form that evokes the rounded belly of a full-term pregnant woman.

Sung Jae is among the 200 artists at the debut edition of Art Asia Delhi art fair at Yashobhoomi Convention Centre here.

The art fair, which opened on Thursday, brings together 51 galleries and 220 artists from Korea, India, the United States, and Japan among other countries in a convergence of cultures and creativity.

Sung Jae said his art piece is a tribute to all mothers, young and old.

"I tried to look at those who we generally overlook like mothers, aunties, young mothers and small children to understand how they feel, especially thinking about my own wife. This represents my wife when she was pregnant and giving birth to my son. I was touched, I was scared and it was all so sacred," he told PTI.

Cascading down like a waterfall, the artwork also uses threads, nail polish, sinker, beads, and clay miniatures to form wave-like patterns, swaying in ripples with the slightest breeze. At the base of the “Broken Water” lay over 300 miniatures, arranged to represent the tools essential for the birth of a child.

The art fair features more than 760 artworks, spread across 61 booths and divided into nine main sections, including Gwangju contemporary art, new media, Korean masters, and Indian-Korean art exchange featuring emerging artists and works in printmaking.

Opening the art fair, Korean ambassador to India Lee Seong-ho said that it is a rare chance for art lovers to witness the creativity and diverse voices of Asia’s artistic landscape on one stage.

“This fair is not only about seeing art, it is also about celebrating the shared cultural journey and partnership between our nations. Art is one of the most natural and powerful ways for countries to connect and understand each other,” the ambassador said.

The exhibition also features the traditional Korean Moon Jar, interpreted by renowned Korean artist Choi Young-wook.

The soothing smooth porcelain surface of the artwork, titled “Karma”, reflects on the memories of the past “from personal to local, national, and even global”.

“It speaks little yet holds much inside. It appears irresistibly simple, yet intensely sophisticated and refined... People know me as the artist who paints the moon-jar. But I am not simply painting the moon-jar, I am telling you my own story – my aspiration to live like the moon-jar,” Young-wook said in a statement.

Among the highlights of the show are the artworks by Korean masters Park Seo-Bo and Moon-seup Shim.

A leading figure of Korean Dansaekhwa (monochrome painting), Seo-Bo’s work at the exhibition is part of his iconic Ecriture series, which visualises the act of writing, using meditative linework.

Employing the traditional Korean paper, hanji, and natural materials, his works reflect Buddhist and Taoist thought, centered on the concept of "becoming", whereas Moon-seup’s “The Presentation” centers on the materiality and temporality of nature.

With broad brushstrokes in shades of blue, the acrylic on canvas work by Moon-seup visualises the rhythms and memories of nature, particularly the sea.

Some of the other Korean artists at the art fair include Sekine Nobuo, Jeong Haemin, Hwan Seon Tae, Hyeongtae Moon, Chun Kwang Young, Lee Ufan, Chung Shin, Eve, Touko Okamura, Hyunsook Jeong, Jaehyo Lee, and Youngseong Shin.

While Hyeongtae Moon merges expressionist and surrealist ideologies to create childlike distortions and symbolisms around the themes of intimacy, nostalgia and whims of everyday life, Hwang Seon Tae explores the relation of light and shadow in a series of interactive works that involve line drawings and background LED lights, creating soothing late afternoons in silent living rooms.

Also at the exhibition, noted artist Airan Kang’s “Reflective Towering” “dematerialises and deconstructs” the physical form of books through light.

The multi-coloured bookshelf at the entrance of the art fair invites visitors to come closer and find meanings beyond what is perceived at first.

“The goal of my digital book project is evoking new meanings of time and space and reflecting on the new age and the culture that we will encounter in the future,” Kang said in a statement.

From India, the exhibition features masterpieces by S H Raza, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, G R Santosh, Bose Krishnamachari, and Jagannath Panda, as well as emerging artists like Sudipta Das and Anil Chaityavangad.

The art fair will come to an end on September 28. PTI MAH MAH BK BK