North Korean Art: The Enigmatic World of Chosonhwa

In-depth analysis of chosonhwa, the emblem of North Korean art

The primary resource research, the first of its kind on chosonhwa

-Vivid visual materials of the North Korean art scene based on nine visits over six years by Georgetown University professor BG Muhn
-The art creation environment of North Korean contemporary ideological and collaborative paintings revealed for the first time

North Korean Art: The Enigmatic World of Chosonhwa offers the reader a rare glimpse into the art, culture, and society of North Korea, a country largely closed off from the world for more than seven decades. This book examines the development and characteristics of chosonhwa, the style of painting unique to the DPRK and that nation s primary vehicle for Socialist Realism art through the present day. Author BG Muhn made nine trips to Pyongyang in six years. He documents his journey from initial fascination, through first-hand research, to his unexpected discovery of the creative and expressive dimensions of this art form. He gained special access to see national treasures, interviewed artists and cultural leaders, and surveyed a broad range of books and visual documents. Through his perspective as a practicing visual artist, Muhn makes the case that North Korean painting merits inclusion in the global art canon. This comprehensive and revealing text is the first of its kind and is an important contribution to the fields of East Asian, 20th century and contemporary art history.

About the Auther

BG Muhn is a visual artist and professor of painting in the Department of Art and Art History at Georgetown University. He has achieved substantial and noteworthy professional recognition through solo exhibitions in venues such as Stux Gallery in the Chelsea district in New York City, the Ilmin Museum of Art in Seoul and the American University Museum in Washington, DC. Through his professional endeavors, Muhn has received numerous awards for his artistic merits including the Maryland State Arts Council s Individual Artist Award and the Grand Prize in the Bethesda Painting Awards Competition. His artwork has been collected in museums and galleries including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in South Korea. He has also received acclaim in reviews and interviews in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Art in America and CNN.
In addition to actively creating and exhibiting his own art, Muhn has also taken a strong interest in and studied the relatively unknown field of North Korean art. During the past six years, he made nine trips to Pyongyang, North Korea to conduct his research which has been based on first-hand, on-site experience in the North Korean art community. He visited many art studios including the Mansudae, Sam Ji Yon, and the White Tiger studios. Muhn also visited the Choson National Museum of Art and the National Art Exhibition in 2012 as well as interviewed numerous artists and art historians. Based on his research, he has given lectures on North Korean chosonhwa at numerous academic venues and cultural centers in the United States, including Georgetown, John Hopkins, Columbia, Harvard, Michigan, and Ohio State Universities, the Watermill Center for Robert Wilson in Long Island and the Korea Society in New York City.
As a curator, he was invited to facilitate Contemporary North Korean Art: The Evolution of Socialist Realism at the American University Museum in 2016, and North Korean Art: Paradoxical Realism at the 12th Gwangju Biennale in 2018.

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