Sketchbook drawing

These two sketchbooks [2018.13 and 2018.5] show Whanki Kim’s artistic practices spanning his time in Paris, Nice, and Seoul, where he experimented with a variety of compositions, mediums, and subject matters. The drawing on the left illustrates a scene from his Paris studio, with the depiction of a painting on an easel that hints at the artist’s iconic paintings of the moon and birds. On the right, we see the artist’s constant exploration of different compositions and forms, and its result can be found in the finished painting on the wall. These sketchbooks give a glimpse of the foundations of Kim’s lifelong devotion to art—especially Korean art—and how he reached his masterful abstract paintings in his later work. Whanki Kim moved to New York in 1963, and there his work shifted vigorously from images with figures to pure abstract paintings composed of lines and colors.

Whanki Kim: Artist’s Voice

“I am Asian and Korean. Even though I grow and transform, I cannot exceed myself. My paintings are drawn by an Asian and a Korean in every way. To be a worldwide artist, shouldn’t the painting be ethnic? I assume art is a robust national anthem. I appreciate my country more by leaving it, but I still represent it, and think about it over and over.” “Koreans like purity, clean and simple things. This fact explains why people call them the white-clad folk. Koreans who lived with blue sky and sea created blue-green celadon, and Koreans who wore white clothes gave birth to that beautiful white porcelain.”“[Kim imagines speaking to his son:] ‘Your father is drawing jars and ritual wares, since coming to Paris. You should draw hundreds of antique ceramics all the time without thoughts. When you look at them sometime later, they will give you various ideas.’”