There is art everywhere.

On the surface, a statement such as this might sound hyperbolic, even New Agey in its triteness.

But if we take a step back, taking a broad mental survey of the seemingly mundane things we view in our everyday lives — the buildings we pass, the billboards along our commute, even the landscape itself — there are centuries-long artistic traditions and design styles that ultimately informed these undertakings. Styles change and innovations are made across generations and cultures, but the roots will always be there.

This logic is at the core of “Korea in Color: A Legacy of Auspicious Images,” a new, intrepid and viscerally stunning exhibition opening October 28 at the San Diego Museum of Art.

The titular “legacy” refers to the centuries-long tradition of polychrome painting on the Korean Peninsula. This tradition, also known as chaesaekhwa, is rich and varied, but perhaps most widely recognized for its vibrant use of varying colors and the functional role art has played in Korea throughout its history. The aim of “Korea in Color” is not only to give the viewer a sense of that legacy, but also to showcase how it continues to influence a new generation of contemporary artists.

“The San Diego Museum of Art is an encyclopedic museum with a permanent collection of Korean art, and Southern California is home to a large Korean American community, and so it just seems natural to want to engage with this culture,” says Rachel Jans, the associate curator of modern and contemporary art at SDMA. “I think the exhibition overall gives an overview that is uncommon in that it includes contemporary art, but one of the reasons this show works so well for us is because we are an encyclopedic institution and we can connect time periods naturally.”

To understand this legacy, it’s important to understand the role that chaesaekhwa paintings have historically served in Korea. The roots can be traced back over 2,000 years but particularly flourished beginning in the late 14th century during the Joseon dynasty. This popularity lasted well over 500 years, but a number of factors contributed to it falling out of fashion, which include modernization, the end of the Joseon dynasty and the beginnings of Japanese colonialism in the early 20th century.

Later viewed as a form of folk or decorative style of art, the works often adorned homes and public spaces to serve one of four thematic functions: byeoksa (warding off ill or evil spirits), gilsang (auspicious motifs, meant to bring luck and favor to those who displayed the piece), gyohun (edification, or, something to teach a moral lesson), and gamsang (ideographic appreciation, such as landscape paintings or portraits). These themes are somewhat broad in nature and only begin to scratch the surface of the varying styles and subject matter, but they are specific enough to give visitors a sense of how the art played a pivotal role in Korean culture.

“The colorful artworks created during this time featured symbolic images, both sacred and secular, and they were really part of all of society from the common people to the court,” says Jans.

“Hyper-realism was the aim for polychrome paintings in the Joseon era,” according to Yun Chin-yong, chief of the Center for Encyclopedic Compilation in Korean Studies at the Academy of Korean Studies. “They required mastery of paint and brush and were largely produced by professional experts.”

However, Yun is quick to point out in the exhibition’s catalog that these artists were of “low social standing,” but that today, court and folk polychrome paintings are now one of the the most popular genres of Korean art.

“They are loved by many contemporary artists, and they are considered one of the two important pillars of Korean art history,” Yun says.

Jans is overseeing the San Diego iteration of “Korea in Color” (and its U.S. debut) after a nearly four-month run at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon in South Korea (MMCA) in 2022, where it was called “Prayer for Life: Special Exhibition of Korean Polychrome Painting.” It’s important to point out, however, that the the exhibition has been dutifully “restructured,” as Jans puts it, by SDMA, in collaboration with the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) and the Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles.

Still, according to Kihye Shin, the curator of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, the SDMA exhibition, while different from the original MMCA version, still “retains the main organization, sub-themes, and designs of the original exhibition.”

“Visitors to the exhibition can encounter traditional paintings that display the original essence of the four themes as well as new interpretations and experiments being made in Korean contemporary art in response to social and cultural trends,” writes Shin in the exhibition’s catalog.

Roxana Velásquez, SDMA’s executive director and CEO, agrees with Shin’s assessment but also emphasizes the educational importance of an exhibition such as “Korea in Color.”

“We are honored to be the first U.S. institution to host this thought-provoking and impactful exhibition celebrating Korean history and culture through auspicious images,” said Velásquez, in a press release. She added that her hope with the exhibition is that it “brings a new perspective of Korean art that is not often represented in the Western art scene.”

Velásquez has a point. For many in San Diego, “Korea in Color” will be their first introduction to Korean art. The opening also comes on the heels of last year’s “The Space Between: The Modern in Korean Art” exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Both were timed in reflection of two important anniversaries in 2023: the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War and the South Korea-U.S. alliance, as well as the 120th year of Korean immigration to the United States.

And while “Korea in Color” focuses specifically on a particular genre, it still offers a vast overview of the polychrome tradition, as well as one that offers visitors a sense of how historical masterpieces come to inform modern artistic methods.

Jans says that “Korea in Color,” displayed in four separate but interconnected areas of the museum, is meant to convey “the role art once played in everyday Korean life.” These areas are thematically organized in honor of the four themes of traditional polychrome painting. Here they are labeled as “At the Doorstep: Defeating Evil”; “In the Garden: Ten Symbols of Longevity and Bird-and-Flower Paintings”; “In the Study: Munjado, Chaekgado and Girokhwa”; and “The Mountain Over the Wall: Landscape Painting.”

The exhibition will feature more than 50 recent works by 29 contemporary Korean artists, which will be displayed alongside five masterpieces from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The aim, says Jans, is to “create a dialogue” between the artists within the respective area and, ideally, throughout the exhibition.

“This exhibition marks San Diego Museum of Art’s first feature exhibition dedicated to Korean art, showcasing some pieces never-before exhibited in the U.S.,” says Kim Sung-hee, director of the MMCA, over email. “We’re delighted to present an exhibition that so significantly highlights the allure of Korean art to American audiences … Additionally, it offers insights into the currents of contemporary Korean art that innovatively reinterpret and build upon existing cultural and traditional roles.”

One of those contemporary artists is Kim Yonchul. The South Korea-based painter’s work can be seen as directly working within the polychrome folk tradition, with vibrant renderings of peony flowers and his signature hearts. He says he sees his work as working within a longstanding and culturally important tradition of art production.

“The Korean art scene as of late seems to be completely consumed by the dansaekhwa (monochrome painting) style. I’ve always disliked this kind of standardization, ever since I was young,” says Kim, who has been producing work since the late 1960s and began painting his peony and heart motifs in the 1980s and ’90s. “As for me, I’m a polychrome painter. ‘Nonconformity’ is an artistic statement.”

Kim’s work will be displayed in the “In the Garden” section of the exhibit, which emphasizes the 10 traditional symbols of longevity. These symbols are perhaps most clearly represented in the classical pieces, two multi-paneled folding screens from unknown 19th-century artists. This will be displayed alongside other contemporary artists such as Kim Yonchul, Kim Chonghak and Hong Jiyoon, among others. Taken together, the viewer is able to trace the artistic lineage of the polychrome style.

What’s more, the curators did not limit themselves to displaying solely contemporary painters working within the polychrome style. “Korea in Color” also includes sculptural, mural, video, and performance-based works to highlight just how extensive the influence of the style has become. For example, visitors to SDMA will be greeted by “Kart,” a 2019 work by Kim Sangdon that features an elaborate wood sculpture painted in the traditional dancheong style, but set atop a modern-day shopping cart.

“It includes traditional folk painting and figurines, but it is in this contemporary dialogue with something from today.” says Jans. “It speaks to this ongoing dialogue about ideals from this time of the Joseon Dynasty, as well as the consumerism and consumption of today.”

One of the standout murals within the exhibition is “날아오르다: RISE UP” by Brooklyn-based installation artist Ahn Seongmin. It’s a startling vinyl installation that takes up an entire wall and was created specifically for the original MMCA exhibition. Composed of almost blindingly vibrant red and yellow colors and text (one English, one Korean), the side-by-side works are meant to convey the convergence of Eastern and Western motifs, while still incorporating traditional chaesaekhwa elements and themes of auspiciousness.

“My work often begins from traditional forms and themes and then challenges said traditionalism, thus creating anew with the unique visual languages I have learned throughout my creative journey, to speak to those in 21st century,” says Ahn, who adds that she was trained in the Western traditions of painting, but later became attracted to minhwa, a genre of Korean folk painting from the 18th and 19th centuries.

“So, I feel as if I have found home in this exhibition,” Ahn continues. “My work, “날아오르다: RISE UP,” really embraces the classic and contemporary, past and present, East and West, and all of us in a new global world without limitations.”

San Diego Museum of Art presents ‘Korea in Color: A Legacy of Auspicious Images’

When: Opens Oct. 28 and runs through March 23. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Closed Wednesdays

Where: San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego.

Admission: Free to $20

Phone: (619) 232-7931

Online: sdmart.org

Combs is a freelance writer.