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Um Tai-Jung (嚴泰丁, born December 28, 1938, Mungyeong City, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province) is a representative first-generation abstract sculptor in the Republic of Korea.

Outline

Um Tai-Jung became fascinated by the materiality of steel while attending Seoul National University in the 1960s, setting foot into the path of metal sculpting. For more than half a century, he has given himself over to the formal qualities of space and time only through the materiality of metal and contemplation on objects. This artistic behavior brings to mind Contstantin Brancusi(1876~1957), who was his spiritual mentor and goal as a sculptor. To Brancusi, sculpting was not simply creating artworks, but a highly spiritual practice and time of meditation to attain genuine truth-his life itself. Even for Um, who was deeply mesmerized by Brancusi, sculpting is a process of contemplating objects and approaching its inherent essence while discovering and realizing one;s true self('stranger'). And due to Um's artistic respect, his sculptural language naturally became abstract rather than representing objects, thus figurative.

Major awards include the 7th Li Mi-rok Award awarded by the Korean-German Association in 2012, the 3rd Kim Se-joong Sculpture (1988), the Grand Prize at the 2nd Korean Art Awards (1971), the 16th National Prime Minister's Award (1967), and the 2nd National Prize. Other awards include the Society’s New Artist Award Encouragement Award (1962). The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Independence Hall of Korea, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Ho-Am Art Museum, Olympic Sculpture Park (Jamsil), Dubrova Sculpture Park in Croatia, the Supreme Court of Korea, ASEM Tower, and the German Chancellor's Office (Berlin) possess his works.

Career

Sculptor Um Tai-Jung was born in 1938. He graduated from the Department of Sculpture and the Graduate School of Education at Seoul National University in 1964 and 1966, respectively. He served as a professor at his alma mater from 1981 to 2004. He was specially selected at the 16th to 19th National Exhibition and won the Prime Minister's Award at the 16th (1967). Shinsegae Centum City Museum of Art (2013), Sungkok Museum of Art (2009), Georg Kolbe Museum (Berlin, 2005), Woodstock Gallery (London, 1980), Muramatsu Gallery (Tokyo, 1975), Arario Gallery (He had numerous solo exhibitions at places such as Seoul, Cheonan, 2019) and Gallery Hyundai (Seoul, 79,97). He participated in the 12th and 13th Sao Paulo Biennale in 1973 and 1975, and in 1983, he participated in the invitational exhibition of Korean contemporary art held in Vicinenia, Italy. In 2019, he was selected as the only artist in Korea to participate in the Frieze London Sculpture held in the UK, and currently operates the Um Art Museum in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. He became a member of the National Academy of Arts of The Republic of Korea in 2013.

world of work

Formative period (1960~1980s)

Taking the opportunity to participate in the National Exhibition, he produced and presented a number of works, including the steel sculpture  and the copper sculpture , creating a space for abstract sculpture through free expression that occurs in the open world of objects. We explore the artistic value of abstract sculpture as an artistic language that can convey various universal values to us. Also, through the Eastern view of (Heaven, Earth, and Human) The phenomenon that occurs in human life is produced and presented through sculptures, and the traditional folk beliefs and religions in our lives, as well as the traditional culture we have achieved, are spoken of in the language of sculpture.

Development period (1990~2000s)

I am approaching the world of more fundamental aesthetics of sculptural art. This eliminates the lack of a more logical formative language of art in the sculpture work, as the previous work was somewhat biased towards intuition and emotion. That is the theme of “Bronze+ware+era.” Here, the work naturally reveals materiality, reveals material spatiality, and has a strong sense of time and place. The work is a world that has nothing to do with thrilling stimulation, savory taste, or novel ideas. The format became more minimalist. Sensitivity, exploration, and reflection are limited to the material itself and its structure. Meaning is not added and is subtracted as much as possible. In this minimal world, even intuition and inspiration are denied. This is because there is a high probability that they will connect the pure dimension of sculpture with another dimension that is difficult to support with it. In that sense, we are pursuing one world, one purist world. To me, sculpture exists like nature and does not have any declarative meaning, is not painful or difficult, or is not a pursuit of profound truth. A world where the labor of cutting, forging, and welding metal monopolizes the object of thought. The sculpture invites me out of this world dominated by simplicity. I am a guest invited by sculpture and invited by metal. What they are calling is not me, the owner of a fierce ideology, nor myself, a believer in profound aesthetics, but just myself. What I have done is to faithfully respond to this invitation that was made to me half a century ago. “I thought I chose iron, but I thought it was arrogant. I looked around and saw the metal calling me. In the 2000s, at the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin (2005) and the Sungkok Museum of Art (2009, Seoul), the exhibition  was intended to seriously show the story of my unwavering pursuit of an order. That order is none other than material and structure, and is an order achieved by the reconciliation of two conflicting worlds and the harmony and balance of two different dimensions. Here, in particular, the material differences between cast iron and aluminum, different material properties, luster without light, color monochrome, silver and black are not automatically exclusive, but instead embrace exquisite corrosion resistance. Compared to cast iron, the characteristics of aluminum are cold softness and neutrality. That pale sheen is the texture and my longing to work in an empty yoga state emptied of knowledge and emotion. The exploration of physical properties and the charm of materials leads to a firm belief in the eternal world of sculptural art.

Completion period (after 2000)

Um Tai-Jung's sculptures since the 2000s are quiet, poetic, and gentle. To the extent that we forget the perception that metal is hard, cold, and heavy, his sculptures are peaceful, orderly, infinitely free, embrace the surroundings, and are quiet inside. However, the full weight inside the sculpture shows that the freedom is not light at all and contains pure passion and strength. However, the works from the 1970s are in quite a contrast to Um Tai-Jung's recent works. Looking at  (1971/2021), the rough interior texture, which contrasts with the smooth surface of copper, creates a certain tension and seems to emit intense energy. When viewing Um Tai-Jung's sculptures as the result of enlightenment that reflects his life itself, the struggle of the young man Um Tai-Jung, which can be felt in his copper works in the 1970s, can be seen in . Over a 55-year journey of work, including the 'Installation' series,  in the 1990s, and the aluminum work in the 2000s, has it been through endless agony and artistic reflection that it has reached a certain level of maturity today?

His recent work,  (2022), is composed of two steel oval rings inserted vertically and horizontally between two long rectangular aluminum panels. According to the artist, these two aluminum panels are the silver wings of the ‘stranger’. The sun and moon orbit in the infinite space that spreads between silver wings. This space is a space of beautiful spiritual energy and embraces both day and night. The 'stranger' invites the shade during the day to take a walk, and throws feasts and dances while twinkling in the starts during the night. The 'stranger' who descended with its silver wings wide open dreams a dream and gives us the full joy of healing and delights our souls. In this way, the work invites the audience beyond the physical realm to the time and space of healing that the artist has constantly pursued, and the audience becomes a 'stranger' themselves and experiences a healing time of reflection and enlightenment.