Career and style
Korea has had a history of ink wash painting since its importation, likely under the Goryeo Dynasty, which continued into the Joseon Dynasty. After a period of national instability—caused by events such as the Russo-Japanese War and colonization under the Japanese empire, as well as lasting tensions with North Korea from the Korean War—the 1960s marked a time of artistic uncertainty in South Korean intellectuals and artists. Many artists and colleges choose to either embrace modernist Western and Japanese influences, such as still-lifes or landscapes done in oil paint, or continue adhering to traditional Korean art techniques.
As a student, Song Su-nam felt that oil paint (which many South Korean artists used) could not properly reflect his Korean ancestry. Early in his career, Song rejected Western painting in favor of modernizing traditional Korean ink painting. Directly out of university, he collaborated in the formation of a short-lived art movement based in Seoul known as "Post-Artist" in 1965, which prioritized “post-abstraction”, based on the philosophy of art critic Bang Geun-taek, who argued in favor of the globalization of Korean art during the effort to modernize. Bang was especially fond of the Western "informalist" painting style, which became central in debates about the integrity of "modern" ink painting.
Song also participated in the "sumukhwa" movement (Korean: 수묵화, ink painting; also known as the oriental ink movement) of the mid-late 20th century. The "sumukhwa" movement sought to revitalize traditional Korean painting techniques in order to rebuild a national identity in a post-war nation, while also adapting to the modern globalized world through abstraction.
Song disagreed with the idea of the nature of abstraction being foreign, and his artistic focus narrowed in on adapting the traditional Korean technique and figure to an abstract nature. He criticized Suh Se-ok and the Mukrimhoe group, as well as many other Korean artists, for adopting Western influences such as the use of Western paints in their polychrome works.
Song often scientifically experimented with different mediums, in one instance mixing black ink with water on mulberry paper. This creation facilitated the minimalist shapes that he believed showed the essence of his subject.
Song Su-Nam's visual language is defined by black-ink painting, repetitive markings, and abstraction of traditional ideas. Thematically, his artwork embodies many traditional ideas, namely that of "cheoninhapil": the union of nature and humanity. In this, his work aligns with that of literati, or ink-wash painting. Literati painting traditionally features calligraphy alongside a painted scene, most frequently a natural one, painted in ink-wash or watercolor. Song's work evolved from traditional landscape to heavy abstraction in the height of his career, with a concentration on repetitive brushstrokes and monochromatic contrast. Song's early paintings were characterized by realistic landscapes, with rolling hills, sparse trees, and rivers, many of which of depicting his hometown, Jeonju. These earlier works were much more reminiscent of truly traditional landscape painting than his later works. The meticulousness of his earlier work is replaced over time with the process-focused, visible brushstrokes of his later paintings, paralleling the modernization effort gaining ground in the Korean art space in the 1970s.
Song Su-Nam worked alongside names like Jung Tak-Young in the mid-century Korean art scene. His art was shown in exhibitions around the world, both during and after his lifetime- including galleries in Sweden, Tokyo, and Hawaii. His work is widely collected in South Korea, both by private collectors and museums. In 1980, Song published a catalogue of the various exhibitions he participated in, following a University of Hawaii campus' dedication of the Korean Studies department in Song's name, and a celebratory gallery showcase.
Today, most of his works reside in private collections, South Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and the Hongik University Museum of Modern Art.
