Oh Ji-ho, a Western-style painter representing Korean modern and contemporary art, is a pioneering artist who established 'Korean Impressionism.' He emphasized the harmony of light and color, expressing lyrical emotions and formative beauty with clear and bright colors in natural landscapes.

A special exhibition honoring artists from the Honam region is being held in Geoje City, Gyeongsangnam-do, a marine cultural tourism city famous for its pristine natural beauty. 

Titled 'Light, Color, Line, Love - Four Great Masters of Honam,' this exhibition, which began on the 10th, is the second joint exhibition by HAEJOUM ART MUSEUM and Gallery Art Island, both of which aim to brand art as 'Art Travel, Creating Cultural Tourism Destinations.'

Oh Ji-ho, a Western-style painter representing Korean modern and contemporary art, is a pioneering artist who established 'Korean Impressionism.' He emphasized the harmony of light and color, expressing lyrical emotions and formative beauty with clear and bright colors in natural landscapes.

Lim Jik-soon, a painter representing lyrical realism in the history of Korean modern and contemporary painting, warmly depicts human inner life and the essence of life with humble forms and restrained colors based on the vitality of nature. Lim was called 'Korea's Matisse' for his preference for bold colors that were unswayed by eras and movements.

Bae Dong-shin, a watercolorist known for his free lines, is evaluated as an artist who established lyrical painting by combining nature and human inner life in the history of Korean modern and contemporary art. While building upon traditional realistic representation, he formed a unique world of painting by adding emotional resonance and contemplative atmosphere. 

Son Sang-ki, dubbed 'Korea's Lautrec,' expressed the anxieties of the era and inner scars through intense colors, rough brushwork, and thick impasto, with themes of human solitude and existence. Despite living a short life, he is an expressionist painter representing Korean contemporary art.

The works of these four artists from the Honam region, who pursued original and harmonious aesthetics and artistic worlds, are part of the Haejoum Art Museum's collection. 

Works by Lim Jik-soon (left) and Bae Dong-shin in the upper row, and works by Son Sang-ki (left) and the poster for the exhibition 'Light, Color, Line, Love - Four Great Masters of Honam' in the lower row. 

Notably, this exhibition offers a 'Proust effect' scent marketing experience at the art venue, sponsored by Juno Seo Biotech Co., Ltd., a company specializing in citron essential oil, a specialty product of Geoje Island.

Lim Ho-geon, director of Haejoum Art Museum, stated, "We recommend the exhibition of the Four Great Masters of Honam, held in the museum's special exhibition hall, along with our permanent exhibition 'UTOPIA,' where you can see about 500 works by representative artists of Korean modern and contemporary art and artists from Busan and Gyeongnam, to Geoje citizens and domestic and international tourists who love art."

This exhibition, hosted by Haejoum Art Museum and Gallery Art Island, planned by Gaia Co., Ltd., and sponsored by Juno Seo Biotech Co., Ltd., will be held at Haejoum Art Museum (Hacheong-myeon, Geoje City; closed Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays) from January 10 to March 29, and at Gallery Art Island (Irun-myeon, Geoje City; closed Mondays and Tuesdays) from April 2 to June 7. 

Reporter Lim Yo-hee