KIM KYU-TAE‘s artistic background and artistic aspects of his artworks are supposed to be commented on by avant-gardes in each different artistic field in this art book. Here in this opening paragraph, let’s explore some spiritual background of how his artworks are created based on my experience from the visit to his home country in order to help appreciation.

A few months ago, I got a chance to visit KIM KYU-TAE's homeland, Yongsan-ri in Imgye-myeon, Jeonseon-gun, with him. We had a meeting about a cultural event with the governor in Pyeonchang-gun, which is a candidate site for the Olympic winter games. The next morning, we passed over a mountain and stopped by his home town for him to meet his former classmates for the first time in 30 years. It takes half a day of driving on the highway from Incheon Airport on the west coast of the peninsula to Pyeonchang-gun in the east. Even though the place we were heading to was just next to it, it's not easy to go through the valley. It takes another two hours to get to Imgye-myeon. Roads are much more developed than in the period in which he spent his childhood. He told me a joke about the people who used to use bumpy roads at high altitudes. They were called "Imgye Air Fleet".

His home country, which we arrived at finally, had an exquisite view of "Imgye", which means "valley". Representing its actual landscape is a pure flow, twisting in the shape of a dragon. He told me that the landscape hadn't changed even though the branch school he used to study at had already closed. Even his birthplace had remained unchanged for 55 years. It was just a small Ondol house, having only two rooms and a kitchen. Yet, more than a dozen people in his family used to live in the house, squeezing into the rooms when they slept. He showed me "Woltancheon" where he used to play in his childhood. It was surprisingly transparent. I could even see stones at the bottom of the river reflecting the sunshine through the water. I found myself carried away, playing with him in the river, feeling like a child again. I'm sure that the extraordinary beauty of the river has a special power to take us back to our childhood.

He showed me the grave of his ancestor across the river. There was a mysterious monument beside it, so I asked him what it was. He explained to me that it was a gift given by the master whom the clans respected the most. The monument commemorates his clan's achievement that all the people in the clan devoted their lives to the great heavenly god, Hanunim. When he and his brother moved to Brazil, they sold the ancestral mountain so they could afford their new life. The clan's tradition was to devote everything to Hanunim. It is fascinating that villagers living around there had common values, so they could accept as a touching tale that he and his brother sold the mountain. The uniqueness of this place gave me a big surprise. Furthermore, it is where Jeonseon Arirang, which is one of the top 3 Arirang (a popular Korean folk song), originated and where seven liegemen who pledged their loyalty to the Goryeo dynasty fled for safety, propagated their culture and made history. Historically in Japan, it is similar to the community formed by fleeing Heike warriors. Descendants here in this village have successfully carried over the spirit of their ancestors. Even in such a mountainous area far away from major cities, I discovered that this village is proud of its tradition, in which human life has always been shared with nature. KIM KYU-TAE was born in this village and brought up with his family sharing this traditional spirit.

In fact, in spite of our visit to his birthplace, which was totally unscheduled and unexpected, we received a heart-warming welcome from his over-70-year-old sister who has been living in the house. When we came back from the river, the low dining table was full of attractive food such as buckwheat buns and marinated food made of a wild plant called "TODO". She began to talk about his old stories in a room almost filled up with our group of five. I noticed a painting hanging on the wall. It seemed like a painting about South America and it was painted on a handmade wooden tray. I thought she cherished it. In the painting, the sun was rising in the valley of a deep forest in the Amazon. Such an unsophisticated painting like this stood out in this traditional environment. She told us that he had given it to her before he moved to Brazil. Looking at the small painting, I could imagine the scene on the day of his departure when he was sent off by his family. When we left the house in a little hurry (because of our schedule) she was telling him to keep in touch repeatedly in her guttural voice. We saw tears in her eyes. It was her sincere feeling of loneliness as a sister, totally unrelated to his success.

After that, we had another big surprise when we were in the public hall. Over a hundred people living in the neighborhood were waiting for us with their handmade food filling the tables. His old friends, one of whom was a captain of the police station and another who was a councilor, took their time to host this occasion for us. The party was getting more and more exciting, with endless greetings from the president of the local agricultural association, a priest, teachers and so on. The captain took the lead with a "bottoms-up session" featuring the strong local alcoholic drink. We light drinkers left the party though I'm sure it went on and on and on...

What a mysterious landscape it was. It was nostalgic and heart-tickling for people who live in the brutal atmosphere of Tokyo. It was a special experience which asked of us the meaning of life and human existence. At that moment, I thought, "The secret of his art is here in this feeling", wondering why he moved to Brazil with his oriental painting and why his traditional oriental painting caused such a revolution.

He has a strong mission. It's not only a vague longing for fine arts, but also a clear picture of his definition of happiness through his artworks. This is his source of energy. Maybe, it just looks like his emotional attachment to his artistic style. However, once he focuses on his passion for creation, he forces himself into trances and opens the door to his world. This is how he has been evolving, so that he can just be focused on his belief and advance in a stable manner to achieve his goal.

I have made a suggestion about my definition of the approximate value of KYU-TAE's line-in the world of Otsu paintings beyond earthly fame. However, I have to add one thing. I also emphasize the existence of the emotion of "genuine naturalness and sincerity", of accepting "human desire of happiness" and communicating it with universe. The greediness of genuine naturalness and sincerity, at the same time, has an ability to hear the words of God and generates enormous energy for awakening the primal scream. I would like you to imagine the power of the graffiti in the Spanish cave of Altamira. I can feel, in KIM KYU-TAE's first art works since he moved to New Jersey, the echo of native Indian prayer. And we can't ignore his latest artwork. His artistic style for the last year had been splashes of pronounced colors on a black ink background. This time, he added a blurring ink technique and traditional precise brush strokes. This can only be achieved by his increased confidence, built up from his extraordinary efforts and this is telling us that he is shifting into his new style.

His artworks have something beyond logic. Yet he has already mastered the academic logic of painting since he has studied under KIM OK-JIN and taught at ITU. Still he draws cranes, turtles and owls, and he takes on unusual topics, sometimes beginning his theme with perceivably cheap and down-and-dirty concepts head on. He always depends on his straight pitch. He doesn't care about what people say about his artworks. His pure and honest expression always beat our hearts. His genuinely honest and powerful artworks blow away our logic and conventional wisdom. We live in such a society formed by fakes and lies, looking at things through our masks. Maybe, our real face under the mask can be ripped off by pure and genuine naturalness and sincerity. And I offer a line from Zhuangzi for this exhibition.

"What's genuine comes from utmost naturalness and sincerity. What isn't natural or sincere doesn't have the ability to move anyone.

Therefore, forced tears, however much they express sorrow, fail to sadden. A forced tantrum, however severe it might be, fails to cause alarm. Forced intimacy, however much a person may smile, fails to bring people in tune with each other.

Genuine sorrow can sadden without uttering a sound.
Genuine anger can cause alarm before any sign is given.
Genuine intimacy can bring people in tune with each other before a smile appears.
When genuineness exists within and is expressed outwardly through the spirit, that's the true value of genuineness."

("Zhuangzi" Chapter 31: The Old Fisherma)