The first exhibition of British artist Tony Bevan opens in Korea

The first exhibition of British artist Tony Bevan opens in Korea. November. 23, 2016 07:22. by Taek Kyoon Sohn sohn@donga.com. Leeahn Gallery in Seoul has opened the first exhibition of a British artist Tony Bevan (65), which will run through December 24. The Gallery explains that he is an acclaimed artist in Britain, but he is new to the Korean public. After touring his artworks in the exhibition, this reporter found his art pieces were quite impressive and I went online to search for more information of him.

What is written about Bevan on Wikipedia is that he stood and fought in the highly charged political climate of the mid-1980s in Britain, under the government of Margaret Thatcher. The Thatcher administration cut funding assistance to artists and induced them to make profits in order to survive. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute described the British art industry in 1999: “The arts for individual and society became weakened, while the arts hunting for commercial value began emerging in the mainstream. Rather than emphasizing intrinsic value of the arts, the focus shifted to how the arts can help regional economy, boost tourism or promote foreign currency earnings. Firms were forced to promote their business by supporting the art sector, and the arts became a medium of promotion by firms.”

This explanation still applies to the current status of the art sector in Korea in 2016. How did this soft-spoken and quiet artist rise to protest to the government? Throughout his paintings, you will never see fancy, sophisticated, simple and clean-cut images. He roughly colored acrylic paints over his charcoal sketch by a blunt brush. “While I am painting, I put my canvas on the floor, hang it on the wall and move it several times. I do not care about stains of knee or palm and they became a part of my painting,” Bevan said.

Tony Bevan’s “Head” in 2004 resembles a heart in the shape of craggy face being tied up. When asked if he painted heart or face, Bevan replied, “The human face reflects heart.”