Tina Kim Gallery is pleased to announce the U.S. premiere of The Man Who Paints Water Drops, a documentary film about the late Kim Tschang-Yeul (1929-2021), directed by the artist’s son Oan Kim and filmmaker Brigitte Bouillot. Director and film curator Ruth Somalo describes it as a piercing film that explores the “relationship between a father and a son while reflecting on their differences in culture, age, and temperament.” The documentary won the Silver Horn Award at the Krakow Film Festival in Poland this June. The screening is part of this year’s Doc NYC, the largest documentary film festival in the U.S.
Kim Tschang-Yeul (1929-2021) is an internationally acclaimed Korean painter who underwent the turmoil of postcolonial liberation and the Korean War. Born in Maengsan in North Korea, Kim experienced the imminent threats of communism firsthand and eventually fled to South Korea. He studied painting at Seoul National University’s College of Fine Arts before co-founding Korea’s Modern Artists’ Association in 1958 which would later be renamed Actuel. During this time, Kim encountered Western art movements through limited resources and adopted the Korean Informel movement along with his counterparts. As an avid reader, Kim was also deeply interested in literature and philosophy, in which he embraced the ideas of Taoism and Zen Buddhism. Kim Tschang-Yeul left for New York in 1965 when Pop Art and Minimalism prevailed. Following a recommendation by his teacher, Kim Whanki, Kim received a scholarship from the Rockefeller Foundation to study at the Art Students League of New York. His earliest experimentation on visceral abstraction and experience of deep isolation in New York profoundly influenced his style. In 1969, Kim Tschang-Yeul finally moved to Paris, where he discovered his signature style: the drop of water.
In-Person Date
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 7:15 PM
Venue
Cinépolis Chelsea
Online Dates
Thursday, November 11 - Sunday, November 28, 2021
Venue
Online Screening
