FEMME
The official title of the work selected for the 3rd Nitten in 1947 is FEMME. Woman in the 1958 list is a later Korean translation.
Research · Criticism
Life Chronology
A life cannot be contained by dates alone. This chronology reads diplomas, awards, notices, certificates, exhibition lists and contemporary reports together.
Source Key
◉ primary document○ contemporary report or official record△ secondary source
Ⅰ Birth and Departure 1926–1939
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1926. 5. 22 | Born in Seohong-ri, Seogwipo-myeon, Namjeju-gun, Jeju. | diploma and identification certificate |
| 1931 | At six, moves to Japan with his father. | artist interview |
| c. 1933 | Receives the Osaka Mayor’s Prize at a children’s art exhibition. | contemporary press |
| c. 1936 | Begins studying watercolour at ten. | contemporary press |
Ⅱ From Osaka to Tokyo 1941–1946
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Enters the Western Painting Department of the Osaka School of Fine Arts. | confirmed record |
| 1943 | Paints Farmhouse, no. 50, the earliest work presently documented. | 1958 exhibition list |
| 1945. 3 | Graduates from the Osaka School of Fine Arts. | diploma |
| 1945 | Moves to Tokyo and enters the studio of Terauchi Manjirō. | contemporary press |
Ⅲ Kōfūkai and the Nitten 1947–1956
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 1947 | First selected for the 33rd Kōfūkai Exhibition with Winter Landscape, no. 30. | exhibition list |
| Autumn 1947 | FEMME, no. 50, is selected for the 3rd Nitten, the first selection of a Korean artist in its Western Painting section. | acceptance notice, exhibition list and contemporary press |
| 1948. 3. 25 | Receives the Kōfū Prize, the exhibition’s highest award, for Woman in a Beret at the 34th Kōfūkai Exhibition, becoming its youngest highest-prize laureate. | award certificate and recommendation |
| 1948 | Is recommended for membership of the Kōfūkai. | contemporary press |
| 1949 | Serves as a Kōfūkai juror. | confirmed chronology |
| 1949. 4. 7–11 | Holds his first solo exhibition at Shiseido, Ginza, Tokyo. | invitation and Shiseido archive |
| 1950 | Paints Afternoon, no. 80, and submits it to the Nitten. | exhibition list |
| 1951. 7. 23–28 | Holds his second solo exhibition at Shiseido, Tokyo. | Shiseido archive |
| 1953. 3. 17–22 | Holds his third solo exhibition at the Western Painting Gallery, Hankyu Department Store, Osaka. | invitation |
| 1954 | Submits Woman in Blue, no. 50, to the Nitten by invitation. | exhibition list |
Ⅳ Return and Seoul 1957–1974
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn 1957 | Terauchi Manjirō writes A Farewell to Byun. | original document |
| 1957. 11. 2 | Receives his Kōfūkai membership certificate. | membership certificate |
| 1957. 11. 15 | Returns permanently by air and begins the Seoul period. | confirmed record |
| 1957 | Paints Reconstruction Work, no. 15, his first work after returning. | exhibition list |
| 1958. 5. 23–6. 1 | Holds a retrospective of sixty oils from the Japan period at Hwashin Department Store, Seoul. | pamphlet and contemporary press |
| 1958. 9. 1 | Becomes a teacher at Mapo High School. | identification certificate |
| 1963 | Is invited to the International Free Art Exhibition. | solo-exhibition pamphlet |
| 1965 | Paints Autumn at Aeryeonjeong. | work record |
| 1967 | Is invited to an international exhibition in Malaysia. | chronology record |
| 1969 | Exhibits in the Exhibition of Contemporary Korean Artists. | chronology record |
| 1969 | Visits Japan as Korea’s representative to the International Society for Education through Art. | chronology record |
| 1971. 4 | Exhibits Aeryeonjeong, no. 100, at the 57th Kōfūkai Exhibition. | pamphlet |
| Summer 1971 | Shows eighteen works from the Biwon series in a solo exhibition in Japan. | pamphlet |
Ⅴ Jeju 1975–2013
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Leaves Seoul, settles in Jeju and becomes a professor at Jeju National University. A homecoming at fifty. | official chronology |
| c. 1977 | Dried-grass colour and ink-dark line begin to emerge. | comparison of works |
| 1978 | Becomes an adviser to the Jeju Fine Arts Association. | official chronology |
| 1991 | Retires from Jeju National University and receives the Order of Civil Merit. | official chronology |
| 1992 | Publishes the monograph Ujō Byun Shi-Ji. | monograph |
| 1994 | Receives the Seogwipo Citizens’ Award. | official chronology |
| 2005 | A special exhibition is held at Gidang Art Museum. | museum record |
| 2007 | Wild Dance and Going On as It Is are invited to the opening exhibition of the Smithsonian’s Korea Gallery and shown on a ten-year loan. | chronology and loan record |
| 2013. 6. 8 | Dies in Seogwipo. | official record |
Facts and Usage
The Kōfūkai’s highest award
The Kōfū Prize of 1948 was the highest award of the 34th Kōfūkai Exhibition, and Byun Shi-Ji was its youngest highest-prize laureate.
110 × 83 cm
He ordered a canvas smaller than the standard F50 so that only the figure would remain. Emptiness was not simply space removed; it was what remained after choosing the one beautiful thing.
Smithsonian
Wild Dance and Going On as It Is were shown on a ten-year loan from 2007 to 2017 after the Korea Gallery opening exhibition. They should not be described as a permanent display.
Principal primary records: Osaka School of Fine Arts diploma, 3rd Nitten acceptance notice, Kōfū Prize certificate, solo-exhibition invitations, Kōfūkai membership certificate, Hwashin retrospective pamphlet and Mapo High School identification certificate.