Kim Tschang-Yeul (Korean, born 1929)Water Drop
1977

signed and dated 77
oil on canvas

129.5 x 89.8 cm (51 x 35 3/8 in)注脚Provenance
Private Collection, Asia (since 1990）
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1990

金昌烈
水滴
油彩畫布
1977年作

簽名: T.Kim 77

來源
亞洲私人收藏 （於1990年）
現藏家於1990年購自上述收藏

If there hadn't been the war, I would have painted flowers, women, or landscapes.
– Kim Tschang Yeul

Born in 1929, Kim Tschang Yeul was exposed to art at an early age. His grandfather helped him develop his interest in classical Chinese calligraphy and Asian philosophy. On the other side, his mother also greatly influenced him in the realm of Western art. It is not surprising that Kim later majored in painting at the College of Fine Arts at Seoul National University in 1950, followed by his study abroad at the Art Students League of New York from 1965 to 1968.

Kim started his signature "waterdrop" series in 1969, when he moved to Paris to experiment with art in a new environment, and it then has become a focus of his ceaseless exploration for the past fifty years. Executed in 1977, Water Drop marks a powerful and mature moment in the artist's oeuvre. Between the concrete water droplets and the abstract space, the paintings present a surreal glittering translucent visual effect. Although the work is painted meticulously in details, the repetition of patterns and motifs convey a sense of "wholeness," transforming the canvas into a conceptual piece. Such practice reflects Kim's awareness and response to the artistic environment in Asia at the time in relationship to the world around him, after decades of violence, war, and political turmoil.

"All is empty" – the Buddhist term reveals the core concept behind Kim's execution of the water droplets. They are a visual metaphor of the Buddhist notion of water as ritual, spiritual protection, and purification. Each twinkling droplet of water represents a tender love for life, and records Kim Tschang Yeul's memories and experiences of the chaos of war. As the artist recalls, "I was struck by the emptiness, the nothingness of the water drop, and by its beauty in the fullness of its refraction and reflection of light, by its significance." In Water Drop (1977), freedom, tears, playing, rivers, absurdity, violence, wisdom, all dissolve into visual nothingness.

As water is a material prone to change at any moment through the effects of air and time, Kim's work marks a new way of expressing ephemerality while building a dialogue with time and history. Standing in front of the work, the viewer is invited to a meditative yet sensual experience by the artist's paintbrush. Thus, Water Drop is a remarkable example of Kim Tschang Yeul's technical dexterity as one of the most important post-war Korean artists, as well as his passion and dedication to philosophy.

"如果沒有戰爭，我想我會畫鮮花，女人，或者山水"。
- 金昌烈

出生於1929年，金昌烈幼時便頗受藝術的熏陶。他的祖父為他對中國書法以及哲學的學習起到了啟蒙的作用，而他的母親則從另一方面幫助建立了他對西方藝術濃烈的興趣。在這樣的環境下，金昌烈不出意料的在1950年便進入了首而國立美術學院繪畫系學習，之後又在1965至1968年間前往紐約藝術學會進修。

1969年，金昌烈開始旅居巴黎，並在不斷嘗試新的藝術形式的過程中開始了他最廣為人知的水珠系列的創作。之後的50多年間，他對此主題的探索從未停歇過。創作於1977年，《水珠》代表了他藝術家生涯中一個至關重要的時刻。介於具象的水珠和抽象的空間中，畫面上呈現超現實般通透晶瑩的視覺效果。雖然畫面上的每一個細節都栩栩如生，但是重複的圖案和空間把整個畫面 "合而為一" ，進而將這件作品抽象化。這樣的手法反映了金昌烈對於當時在數十年飽經戰火與動盪後的亞洲藝術環境與歷史環境的認知，戰後的日本逐漸形成了以李禹煥，関根伸夫等為代表的 "物派" 運動，通過以 "無為" 的形式展示材料最本真的美。韓國在1960和70年代也出現了相似的藝術形式， 全光荣和金昌烈等藝術家積極推倡"單色畫"運動，在解構傳統繪畫方式的同時糅雜了道家佛家哲學中冥想的理念。

"萬物皆空"－就如這個佛教用語揭示的一樣，金昌烈所畫的水滴在視覺上代表了佛教中將水視為聖潔，保護，和淨化的寓意。每一顆帶光感的水珠代表著看待生命柔軟的心，也記錄著過去金昌烈所經歷的戰亂回憶。就如他自己所述："我被水滴中所蘊含的虛空，它飽滿的質感，與反射出的光澤深深吸引了。"在《水珠》（1977）中，自由，歡愉，河水，荒誕，暴力，智慧，全都消融在了這畫面的虛空當中。

正如水是隨著空氣時間分秒變動的介質，金昌烈的作品代表了他在與時間和歷史的對話中，對於瞬間的刻畫。他的畫筆將畫前的觀眾不由自主地帶進了一個細膩而又充滿禪意的空間中。所以《水珠》是表現了金昌烈高超繪畫技巧與他對哲學深刻剖析的不可多得的佳品。