Lee Ungno (; January 12, 1904 – January 10, 1989) was a Korean-born French painter and printmaker whose works were chiefly focused on Eastern and Korean-style paintings.
After training in traditional inkwash painting in Korea from the 1920s to the 1930s, Lee gradually experimented with Western-style painting techniques in Japan. His works from the 1950s showcase creative attempts at merging Eastern medium and brushstrokes with Western perspective and forms.
After returning to Korea before liberation and developing his early quasi-abstract ink painting style, Lee Ungno relocated to France in 1958, where he fully established his standing as an abstract artist. He is most known for his series of ink and paper collage, abstract letters, and crowd paintings that developed during his stay in France.
Other than painting, Lee Ungno has worked as an art educator in Hongik University after liberation, founded Goam Misul Yeonguso (Goam Art Research Institute) and published a Korean art textbook (동양화감상기법, The Impression and the Techniques of Oriental Painting) in 1956, and also established an Eastern art school, Académie de Peinture Orientale de Paris in the 1960s.Lee Ungno Museum (2000). Goam misul 1 (in Korean). Seoul: Eol gwa al. p. 146..
Lee Ungno Museum opened in 2007 in Daejeon, South Korea, to preserve, display, and promote artworks and materials related to the artist.Park Yong-Seo.(2008). A Study on the Relation between the Modernity and Ungno Lee's Art Founded at the Ungno Lee Museum in Dae-Jeon. JOURNAL OF THE ARCHITECTURAL INSTITUTE OF KOREA Planning & Design, 24 (9), 11–18."LEEUNGNO MUSEUM". www.leeungnomuseum.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-04-30. He is credited for forming part of the first generation of Korean abstract artists, and for contributing to the diversification in the use of Eastern material in modern and contemporary art.
Early life Lee Ungno was born in Hongseong County (홍성, 洪城), Chungcheongnam-do Province (충청남도, 忠淸南道) in 1904 and spent his childhood in Yesan County (예산, 禮山). Lee was taught classical Chinese (한문, 漢文) by his father, and enrolled in Hongseong Botong Hakyo (홍성보통학교, 홍성초등학교, 洪城普通學校) for his primary education, but soon dropped out due to his family's financial situation.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 142. Instead of following up on formal education, he helped with farmwork at home and began to study painting by depicting landscapes of Yongbongsan Mountain (용봉산, 龍鳳山), Deoksungsan Mountain (덕숭산, 德崇山), and Sudeoksa Temple (수덕사, 修德寺), eventually training ink painting under the tutelage of literati painter Yeomjae Song Tae-hoe (염재 송태회, 念齋 宋泰會·1872–1942) from 1920.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 142.Lee Ungno Museum (2000). Goam misul 1 (in Korean). Seoul: Eol gwa al. p. 134. .
Art career in Korea After deciding to pursue a career as an artist and realising the need to overcome traditional conventions to progress in his artistic pursuits, Lee Ungno moved to Seoul in 1922 and became apprentice to celebrated calligrapher-painter-photographer Haegang Kim Gyu-jin (해강 김규진, 海岡 金圭鎭, 1868–1933) from 1923.Byun Sang Hyoung (2014). "Le collage comme la méthodologie plastique fondamentale de LEE Ungno après son séjour en France – au coeur de l'époque Paris -". Hanguk France hak nonjijp. 85: 227.
In the 1920s, Lee Ungno primarily learned to paint the Four Gentlemen in the 'Haegang style.' In 1924, his inkwash painting of a bamboo, Mukjuk (묵죽, 墨竹, Ink Bamboo), won a prize in the 3rd Annual Joseon Art Exhibition (조선미술전람회, 朝鮮美術展覽會) in the category of Four Gentlemen.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 143. However, he soon faced several years of disappointing results in the annual exhibition prizes. In the meantime, he made a living from producing various shop signboards and other calligraphic work, and in 1931, he finally won prizes for Cheongjuk (청죽, 靑竹, Blue Bamboo) and Pungjuk (풍죽, 風竹, Bamboo in the Wind) in the 10th Annual Joseon Art Exhibition in 1931.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 143.Lee Ungno Museum (2000). Goam misul 1 (in Korean). Seoul: Eol gwa al. p. 143.
Lee Ungno consecutively won prizes in the 11th, 12th, and 13th Joseon Art Exhibition in the Eastern Painting category following the abolishment of the Calligraphy and Four Gentlemen categories, and continued to submit works and win prizes in the Joseon Art Exhibition throughout the colonial period.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 143-144. Yet, Lee Ungno believed that Eastern ink painters should take the Four Gentlemen as a basic skill to build upon and modernize.Hoam Gallery (1994). Goam Lee Ungno jeon (in Korean). Seoul: Samsung misul munhwa jaedan. p. 40. It was in the early 1930s that Lee Ungno moved on from emulating Kim Gyu-jin's style of painting the traditional Four Gentlemen, and began to produce inkwash landscapes that were influenced by new, modern Eastern ink painting styles and naturalistic renditions found in Western-style paintings.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 144.
Training in Japan After gaining some recognition as a professional artist in Korea in the early 1930s, Lee began to expand his activities to Japan. Lee Ungno won a prize in the 95th Nihon Bijutsu Kyokai Ten (日本美術協会展) in 1935, and won prizes in the 27th and 18th Joseon Art Exhibition, where his ink paintings began to exhibit stronger influences of Western landscapes.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 144.Lee Ungno Museum (2000). Goam misul 1 (in Korean). Seoul: Eol gwa al. p. 143. .
Lee Ungno soon relocated to Japan to expand his knowledge about Western paintings and techniques. He trained under renowned Japanese painter Matsubayashi Keigetsu (松林桂月, 1876–1963) and learned the basics of Western painting in Hongo Kaiga Kenkyusho (本鄕繪畫硏究所), and also enrolled in Kawabata School of Painting (川端畫學校) in Tokyo.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 14.Lee Ungno Museum (2000). Goam misul 1 (in Korean). Seoul: Eol gwa al. p. 143. Park, Parang. (2018). "Art Informel and Abstract Calligraphy in 1950s." Art History, (35), 255–283.
In the late 1930s, he continued to be accepted in several art exhibitions in Japan and Shenzhen, China and also held his first solo exhibition in Hwasin Department Store Gallery, Seoul, in 1939.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 14.
Return to Korea Toward the end of the Pacific War, Lee Ungno sold his newspaper shop in Tokyo and returned to Seoul in March 1945, then moved to Yesan to avoid conscription.Lee Ungno Museum (2000). Goam misul 1 (in Korean). Seoul: Eol gwa al. p. 143. . After liberation, he returned to Seoul and formed part of the founding members of Joseon Misul Geonseol Bonbu (조선미술건설본부, 朝鮮美術建設本部, Joseon Art Development Center) and Joseon Misulga Hyeophoe (조선미술가협회, 朝鮮美術家協會, Joseon Artists Association).Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. pp. 145–146. He also organized Dangu Art Association (단구미술원, 檀丘美術院) with fellow Korean artists to overcome remnants of Japanese colonial rule and push for the development of Korean artistic creativity.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p 146.
From 1948 to 1950, he taught in the Oriental Painting Department of Hongik University, while continuously exhibiting in Seoul, Jeonju (전주, 全州), and Daejeon (대전, 大田) up to the outbreak of the Korean War.Lee Ungno Museum (2000). Goam misul 1 (in Korean). Seoul: Eol gwa al. p. 82.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 148. By this time, Lee was gradually transitioning to abstraction, using "acts of conscious deformation" to grid "pictorial space using perpendicular lines that are successively layered onto each other to both produce the illusion of spatial recession and reinforce the flatness of the physical support."Kee, Joan (2019-10-02). "Jung Tak-young and the Making of Abstract Ink Painting in Postwar Korea". The Art Bulletin. 101 (4): 120–121. .
During this time, Lee Ungno met Park In-gyeong (박인경, 朴仁景, 1926–present) in 1949, who was studying Eastern painting in Ewha Womans University.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 146. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Lee Ungno moved to Yesan with his family, along with Park In-gyeong, but continued to hold various exhibitions and trained students.
Lee returned to Seoul after ceasefire in July 1953 and held a solo exhibition where he showcased many of his new paintings that depicted scenes from rural life, such as farmlands, markets, farm animals, and people seeking refuge from the war.Han Jong-hun. "Goam Lee Ungno ui saeng-ae wa jakpum segye yeon-gu." Master's thesis, Hannam University, 2007, pp. 10–11.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 147.
Lee continued to hold various solo exhibitions in Seoul during the late 1950s and submitted works to exhibitions like Daehan Misul Hyeophoejeon, but from the late 1950s, Lee Ungno began to look to stage his works outside of Korea. In 1957, his works were sold to Rockefeller Foundation and donated to the New York Museum of Modern Art, and he signed a 5-year contract with World House Gallery.Byun Sang Hyoung (2014). "Le collage comme la méthodologie plastique fondamentale de LEE Ungno après son séjour en France – au coeur de l'époque Paris -". Hanguk France hak nonjip. 85 (null): 228–229. . Around this time, Lee received an invitation from the French art critic Jacques Lassaigne to move to France.
In 1958, Lee Ungno left for France with Park In-gyeong, who he married after his divorce with his first wife Park Gwi-hui (박귀희, 朴貴嬉, 1909–2001) before leaving Korea. He held his farewell exhibition at the Central Public Information House, Seoul.Lee Ungno Museum (2000). Goam misul 1 (in Korean). Seoul: Eol gwa al. p. 146. This last solo exhibition in Korea before his departure is thought to have "proposed the future of Korean Eastern-style painting" and displayed some of his breakthrough pieces where the breakdown of traditional ink painting and Lee's unique formation of free, rythmatic, yet balanced abstract brushstrokes were successfully deliberated.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. p. 83.Park, Parang. (2018). "Art Informel and Abstract Calligraphy in 1950s." Art History, (35), 255–283.
Art career in France After travelling to France in 1958, Lee Ungno spent a year in Germany where he held his first European solo exhibition in Galerie Prestel, Frankfurt, then in Galerie Boisserée, Cologne, followed by a joint exhibition with Park In-gyeong at Kunstmuseum Bonn.Lee Gu-yeol (1990). Lee Ungno, Kim Yeong-gi (in Korean). Seoul: Geumseong Chulpansa. pp. 148–149.Lee Ungno Museum (2000). Goam misul 1 (in Korean). Seoul: Eol gwa al. p. 146. .