Materiality and Its Surfacing : Moon Bok-cheol’s Hanji Painting

Moon Bok-cheol (文福喆, 1941~2003), an artist based in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, is widely recognized as the “hanji (traditional Korean paper) artist.” However, in the early 1960s, he practiced avant－garde art forms, including highly experimental object works and performance art, while also being selected for the National Art Exhibition with his Informel－style abstract paintings. It was in the mid－1970s that Moon began to focus on hanji as his primary medium. From that point onward, throughout the 1980s and until his passing, Moon gained recognition for creating works in various forms and expressions, all rooted in hanji. As a result, his hanji paintings evolved along a complex and dynamic trajectory. Interestingly, Moon’s shift to hanji coincides with several social and art historical phenomena of the time, which encouraged the emergence of hanji as an art material. First, by the mid－20th century, paper－traditionally used as a support for drawing－was rediscovered as an independent art medium. Second, as the Korean art scene of that time championed “the goal of internationalizing Korean [things, culture] and achieving world －level qualities within Korean art,” hanji rapidly rose as both a “glorious cultural heritage of our national culture” and a “new formative medium.” In this context, Moon Bok-cheol, along with other artists dedicated to hanji, formed the Korean Paper Artists Association in 1990. Moon subsequently established his primary artistic base in Jeonju, known as the home of hanji, contributing to the specialization and revitalization of regional art in Jeollabuk-do. Through his hanji paintings, Moon demonstrates how international art trends were absorbed into national art and further transformed into regional art, ultimately evolving into a uniquely personal artistic expression. This makes him a significant figure in the study of modern regional artists in Korea.