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| Nam Tchun-mo |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Korean artist Nam Tchun-mo's art collection "Beam Lines Spring Stroke" won the visual art section of the Preis der Stiftung Buchkunst (Stiftung Buchkunst Prize).
The catalogue, published by Hartmann Books, centers on Nam's solo exhibition "Gesture in Space," held at the Ludwig Museum in Koblenz, Germany, last June to September, as well as his early works.
Nam was the first Korean artist to hold an exhibition at the German museum.
Byun Won-kyung, director of Aando Fine Art in Berlin, which represents Nam in Europe, said the book features Nam's body of work, including his drawings, paintings and sculptures and installations at exhibitions.
Nam, born in 1961, is considered one of the new-generation artists of "Dansaekhwa" (Korean monochrome painting). The artist explores how to embody "lines," one of the basic elements of art, in three-dimensional quality. His line reliefs on canvas create dynamics of light and shadow and blur the boundary between sculpture and painting.
"Through a careful study, my scent gets transformed into a moderate and pure aesthetically valuable piece of art that shows both conflicting characters of sculpture versus painting and surface versus depth," Nam once said.
As an artist who succeeds in the spirit of Dansaekhwa, Nam received the Hachonghyun Foundation Award in 2010, granted by Dansaekhwa master Ha Chong-hyun.
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| Nam Tchun-mo's "Beam Lines Spring Stroke" |
The Stiftung Buchkunst Prize award reflects how Nam's book portrayed the essence of his work through graphic design.
"An impressive design concept takes place on different types of paper," the award jury said in a statement. "It starts with a white, light, natural paper ― the basis for the texts on the work of the South Korean artist ... The presentation of the abstract images are printed on coated but still lighter paper. This material allows for multi-sensory experiences."
The visual art section included art books, photo books and exhibition catalogues and five books ― "Demonstration rooms. Artistic examination of space and display in the Albertinum"; "Das Jahr 1990 freilegen"; "G.S.Rogado ― Insight"; and "A.R. Penck ― How It Works" ― won this year's award along with Nam's book.
Nam's catalogue will now be featured in a special booklet on the 25 winning books of Preis der Stiftung Buchkunst 2020 and at an exhibition around the time of the Frankfurt Book Fair in September.
The book is available from the bookstore of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea.
