Pioneering abstract painter dies at 89

Kim Hoon, among the first generation of abstract expressionists in Korea, died after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 89.

Kim led the development of Korean modern art by opening the Modern Painting Exhibition in 1954 and forming the Korean Contemporary Printmakers Association in the late 1960s. His contemporaries include Park Soo-keun, Kim Whanki and Chang Ucchin.

He was among the first Korean artists to be invited for an exhibition in New York in 1958, along with Kim Whanki and Park Soo-keun. In 1960, he moved to the U.S. where he was engaged in the vibrant art scene.

In the 1980s, Kim moved to Paris and exhibited at the Salon d’automne in 1993, the annual art exhibition held in Paris since 1903.

He returned to Korea in 2002 with his wife. That year, he was listed as a member of the prestigious National Academy of Arts.

Kim called attention to the problem of agreements signed between artists and galleries in 2007 after he became embroiled in conflict with a local gallery.

(wylee@heraldcorp.com)