Retrospective of Late Korean Artist Bang Hai-ja's Works Opens at MMCA Cheongju

By Woo Jae-yeon SEOUL, April 22 (Yonhap) -- The lifelong works of Bang Hai-ja (1937-2022), whose light-inspired works adorn the Chartres Cathedral in France, will be highlighted in an upcoming retrospective at the Cheongju branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA). The large-scale exhibition, titled "Bang Hai-ja: Sowing Light Across Heaven and Earth," will bring together 67 pieces of her artworks spanning from her early to late years, according to the museum on Wednesday, along with over 200 archival materials, offering a comprehensive overview of her artistic philosophy and oeuvre. The exhibition of the late artist, who had spent most of her life living and working in France, marks the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and France, according to the MMCA. Notably, more than half of the works on display are being shown in her home country for the first time, including pieces from the Centre Pompidou and other museums in France. Born in 1937 in Seoul, Bang showed a natural gift for art from an early age. While she wanted to study literature to become a poet, her high school teacher strongly encouraged her to pursue art instead. "Painting is done not by the hand but by the heart. And you already have it in you," the late artist recalled her teacher saying during an interview with Yonhap News Agency in April 2018. After graduating from Seoul National University, she moved to Paris in 1961 to pursue art. Her parents, both art lovers and teachers, fully supported the decision, she said. There, she met Pierre Courthion, a respected art historian and critic who later became her biggest supporter until his death in 1988, aged 86. During the interview, Bang recalled the moment light first called to her. It was when she was watching sunlight glitter off a small stream near her grandparents' house and wondering if she could somehow capture it on canvas. Light, she added, chose her as its subject, not the other way around. One of the notable achievements of her career came when she was commissioned to create windows for the historic cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most celebrated monuments of medieval Europe. She decorated the four contemporary windows, each themed around light, life, love and peace. "This creates a virtuous cycle in which light is life, life is love and love in turn is peace," she explained during the 2018 interview. MMCA Director Kim Sung-hee noted the late artist did not receive the recognition she deserved during her lifetime, adding that the exhibition "offers an important opportunity to fully reexamine" her artistic world. "By presenting both works from the MMCA collection and works held in France which have never before been introduced in Korea, we hope to provide an occasion for visitors to explore this artist's practice more broadly," she said in a statement. "Bang Hai-ja: Sowing Light Across Heaven and Earth" opens on Friday and runs through Sept. 27 at the MMCA's Cheongju branch.