Legends of the Spirit World:
Shamanistic Works of Art

Ming's Asian Gallery is pleased to present a remarkable collection of original works of art by Korea's "National Living Treasure" artist Kim Man Hee.

Mr. Kim paints to express and document visual reflections of history, folk life and customs. His use of vibrant mineral pigments, blending brushstrokes with a disregard to perspectives or compositions, results in the perpetuation of his native traditions. Shamanism, the indigenous religion of ancient Korea, plays an important role in his paintings.

Mr. Kim is a minwha painter - "min" for folk, and "hwa" for painting - who is preserving traditional art as industrialization sweeps his country. Folk painting is marked by the use of vivid colors and the symbols of cranes, peaches, tigers, pine trees, deer, and turtles. His paintings capture the grand imagination of a child marked by his bold use of brilliant colors.

Kim Man Hee was born in Korea in 1931. He obtained his graduate degree from Kyong Hui University and is the past president of the Traditional Art Association. He has authored over thirty-seven folkloric books which are used by the academia and schools. Influenced by religion and art from China, his works reflect harmony and symbolism in nature.