UM Tai-Jung

UM Tai-Jung (b. 1938) was born in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea, and is a leading sculptor and educator of the first generation of Korean contemporary abstract sculpture. He received his B.F.A. in Sculpture from Seoul National University and his M.Ed. from the Graduate School of Education at Seoul National University before pursuing postgraduate studies in sculpture at Saint Martin's School of Art, London, UK. He is currently Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University, a member of the National Academy of Arts, Republic of Korea, PEN Korea, and the Korean Association of Pure Literature Writers.

Since the early 1960s, UM has continuously explored sculptural form and material. His early works presented an abstract sculptural language grounded in an East Asian view of nature. In the mid-1970s, he shifted his primary medium from iron to copper, marking a significant turning point in his artistic practice. Exploiting copper's malleability, he created a striking contrast between smooth exterior surfaces and rugged interiors, giving visual expression to the dynamic energy flowing within the sculpture. During the 1990s, he further expanded his investigation of sculptural space. Since the 2000s, he has pursued a quieter and more poetic sculptural language, working primarily in aluminum. Through the tension between aluminum's visual lightness and its actual physical weight, he realizes a state of 'emptiness filled with presence,' a concept that most fully embodies his sculptural philosophy.

From 1981 to 2004, UM served as Professor of Sculpture at Seoul National University, where he played a pivotal role in the development of sculpture education and contemporary sculpture in Korea. He also served as a Visiting Research Professor at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin), Germany. His major honors include the Prime Minister's Prize at the 16th National Art Exhibition of Korea (1967), the Grand Prize at the Korea Fine Arts Grand Exhibition (1971), the Kim Sejoong Sculpture Award (1989), and the Lee Mireuk Award (2012). His major solo exhibitions include the Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin (2005); Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul (2009); ARARIO GALLERY, Seoul and Cheonan (2019); and ARARIO MUSEUM in SPACE, Seoul (2022). He has also participated in numerous major curated and group exhibitions at institutions including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), Gyeongnam Art Museum, Pohang Museum of Steel Art, and SOMA Museum of Art. Internationally, he has exhibited in the São Paulo Biennial (1973, 1975) and Frieze Sculpture London (2019), among other prominent exhibitions. His public sculptures are installed at major sites in Korea and abroad, including Olympic Park in Seoul, Dubrova Sculpture Park in Croatia, Incheon International Airport, and the German Chancellor's Residence in Berlin. UM's works are held in the collections of leading Korean institutions, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, the Seoul Museum of Art, the Pohang Museum of Steel Art, Leeum Museum of Art, and the ARARIO Collection. Internationally, his works are included in the collections of the German Chancellor's Residence in Berlin, Dubrova Sculpture Park in Labin, Croatia, and the Santo Tirso International Sculpture Park in Portugal.