Ju Jaehwan
Joo Jaehwan was born in Seoul in 1940. As a middle school student, he became enamored with Van Gogh ...
About Ju Jaehwan
Joo Jaehwan was born in Seoul in 1940. As a middle school student, he became enamored with Van Gogh and nurtured dreams of becoming an artist. In 1960, he enrolled in Hongik University's College of Fine Arts but dropped out after just one semester—his reason being the desire to purchase more materials for his work with the money that would have gone to tuition. For the next 20 years, Joo worked in various occupations unrelated to art to make a living. In his twenties, he worked as a piano salesman, an ice cream vendor at Changgyeonggung Palace, and a neighborhood watch volunteer at a police substation. In his thirties, he began working at magazines and publishing houses, assisting the folklorist Shim Wooseong. He passed through Dokseo Saenghwal (Reading Life), Samsung Publishing, Art and Life, the Publishing Culture Research Institute, and Mijinsa. Through this process, he gained firsthand experience of Korean social realities. In addition, he acquired an easygoing yet witty demeanor and a generous capacity to embrace others. Even during his years away from art, Joo never ceased socializing with figures in the cultural and arts community. Their gathering places were mainly teahouses and bars: Hakrim Dabang and Renaissance on Daehangno, and Eunseong and Songseok in Myeongdong. There he encountered university seniors and juniors as well as art critic Lee Il and poet Kim Suyoung. Inspired by these encounters, he held a small solo exhibition at Jjoksaem, a bar run by Kim Inhwan in Gwanghwamun, in the early 1970s. Joo took his first steps into what might be called the art world through the formation of 'Reality and Utterance' in 1979 and his participation in its inaugural exhibition in 1980. His works from this period were deeply connected to the historical and political themes of the time. Mondrian Hotel (1980) and Spring Rain Descending a Staircase (1980), painted during this era, remain celebrated as representative works. After 'Reality and Utterance,' Joo's social life was complex, spanning progressive intellectual, artist, and activist roles. Examples include the difficult establishment of a memorial stone for Jang Junha in 1986 and preparations for the 30th anniversary of the April 19 Revolution in 1990. He devoted considerable affection and time to such civic and public endeavors. In the 1990s, Joo began presenting works that critique capital structures rather than history and politics. By this time, the combative atmosphere of the 1980s democratization movement had largely subsided, and the overall social mood was changing significantly. Abroad, the Berlin Wall had fallen; domestically, President Kim Young-sam had taken power. His 1990s works capture and critique the transformed society from a different perspective than his 1980s pieces. Representative works of this decade include Ode to American Dots, Jjajangmyeon Delivery, and Shopping Man. Since the 2000s, Joo has been more active than ever. He says the sense of liberation young people find in his diverse working methods creates opportunities for him. He presented works at his solo exhibition Behold This Delightful Man at Art Sonje Center (2001), Project Space Sarubia Dabang (2007), and the 50th Venice Biennale Special Exhibition (2003). He received the 10th National Arts Award (2001) and the UNESCO Prize Special Award (2002).
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