鄭相和／Chung Sang Hwa

鄭相和は、韓国を代表する抽象画家です。

鄭は1932年に韓国の慶尚北道に生まれました。1956年に国立ソウル大学校美術大学絵画科を卒業すると、ソウルで個展を開くなど自国で活躍しつつ、1967年の渡仏を皮切りに国外にも長く身を置き、各地の芸術界に鮮やかな足跡を残しています。1969年に来日して以降は神戸で暮らし、大阪の「信濃橋画廊」や東京の「村松画廊」などでの個展を通して、関西の前衛美術に刺激を与えました。1977年からは再びパリへと向かい、韓国に戻ってきたのは1990年のことでした。1970年代に韓国で隆盛した「単色画」の担い手の多くが自国で創作活動を展開していたなか、同じく「単色画」を手がける鄭が、パリや神戸などの海外に拠点を設けていた点は特筆に値します。

初期の作品には、ほかの「単色画」の画家たちと同様に、アンフォルメルから影響を受けた彩り豊かな抽象画が多く見られます。しかし、1970年代に入ると、カンヴァスに絵の具を塗り広げ、そこに升目のような細かい亀裂をつくり、その亀裂部分の絵の具をはがした後に同色の絵の具を塗り重ねていく独自の手法を用いて、オールオーヴァー絵画と呼ばれる作品を一貫して手がけるようになりました。上記のような反復作業によって独特な精神性を帯びた画面は、向き合う者に深い感動と思索の時間を与えます。韓国の抽象絵画が世界のアートシーンで注目を集めている昨今、鄭の作品は日本でも評価が高まっています。

Chung Sang Hwa is a prominent abstract painter representing South Korea.

Chung was born in 1932 in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. After graduating from the Department of Painting at College of Fine Arts, Seoul National University in 1956, he began to make a name for himself in his home country, holding solo exhibitions in Seoul. Starting with his move to France in 1967, he spent an extended period abroad, leaving a vivid mark on the international art scene. After coming to Japan in 1969, he settled in Kobe and, through solo exhibitions at galleries such as “Shinano Bashi Gallery” in Osaka and “Muramatsu Gallery” in Tokyo, he influenced the avant-garde art scene in the Kansai region. From 1977, he once again headed to Paris, and he didn’t return to Korea until 1990. During the 1970s, while many of the leading figures in the Korean “monochrome painting” movement pursued their creative activities within their homeland, Chung, who also worked in the “monochrome painting” genre, stood out for establishing bases abroad in places like Paris and Kobe. This is a noteworthy aspect of his career.

In his early works, like other “monochrome painting” artists of the time, colorful abstract paintings influenced by Art Informel are frequently observed. However, as the 1970s arrived, he adopted a distinctive technique by spreading paint on the canvas, creating fine grid-like cracks, removing paint from those cracked areas, and then layering the same color of paint on top. He consistently worked on artworks known as all-over paintings using this method. As mentioned above, artworks imbued with such a unique spirituality through repetitive processes provide those who engage with them deep feelings of inspiration and contemplative moments. In the current landscape where, Korean abstract art is garnering attention on the global art scene, Chung’s works are also gaining recognition in Japan.