Page 11 - 2022 한국화진흥회 정기전 5. 12 – 5. 20 갤러리U.H.M

A Congratulatory Message

We are in May, the season when the flowers of culture and art bloom in the most beautiful manner. In May every year,
it is usual that people are busy visiting a variety of exhibitions and performances. However, over the past two years,
not only our economy but also the cultural and artistic circles have gone through difficulties due to COVID-19, leading
to frequent cancellation or delay of many scheduled exhibitions and performances. As COVID-19 reached a peak,
social quarantine regulations start to be gradually relieved. We hope that, in May, a number of activities and events in
the Korean culture and art circles can be back to normal finally.

At this time of the relaxation stage of the pandemic, it is such an overwhelmingly happy moment to have this chance
to meet the audience again through the exhibition “Draw Flowers, Rice, Talk and Painting,” the regular exhibition held
by the Korean Painting Association.

The Korean Painting Association, which was founded in 2017 aiming to overcome the stagnated state of Korean
painting, held exhibitions such as “the exhibition of 100 senior artists of Korean Painting” and “the exhibition of
Korean painting asks its path” inviting 82 established artists. Through the events, the Association intended to
inherit and develop the tradition of Korean painting. Thus, while trying to search for new ways, the Korean Painting
Association fully displayed the impression and passionate potential of artists of Korean painting. Contemplating
the past of Korean painting and seeking the present and future is indisputably significant in the art world able to
create a renaissance of Korean painting for the coming days. In particular, the Korean Painting Association consists of
members such as representative artists who majored in Korean painting, and this contributes to demonstrating high-
level activities of artists and the scale of the exhibition. I am sure that they will play a vital role in heightening the
status of traditional Korean art at home and abroad.

I hope this year will be a momentum to take a leap forward through diverse events such as domestic and overseas
exhibitions based on the support as a corporation approved last year. I look forward to seeing that the Association
can serve as a springboard for Korean painting to stand at the center of world art, beyond the role as an organizer of
exhibitions. Furthermore, I dare to imagine that the enthusiasm for Korean painting can put Korean art in the limelight
of the global art market in the near future.

Once again, I deeply appreciate the hard work of all staff members, including Ms. Kim Chunok, President of the Korean
Painting Association. I am fully aware that they spared no effort to make the exhibition successful. In addition, I wish
the members participating in the regular exhibition of the Korean Painting Association infinite progress in the coming
projects. I sincerely hope that this exhibition can give an opportunity to brighten the heart saddened by COVID-19,
leading to a renewed blossom of the flowers of culture and art.

May 12, 2022
Lee Beomheon, President of the Federation of Artistic & Cultural Organization of Korea

9