柳仁

RYU In (1956–1999), a sculptor who left a pivotal mark on the history of contemporary Korean sculpture, developed a distinctive practice that combined rigorous realist figuration with theatrical staging and intense imagination to dramatize human suffering, anxiety, and obsessive attachment to life through sculptural tableaux. In the 1980s and 1990s—when abstraction and installation dominated the Korean art scene—RYU persistently pursued figurative sculpture grounded in precise anatomical realism, establishing an independent sculptural language of remarkable force. He later expanded his expressive range by integrating sculpture with installation, broadening both the conceptual and spatial dimensions of his work. Born to the pioneering abstract painter RYU Kyungchae (1920–1995) and the playwright and professor KANG Sunghee (1921–2009), RYU In inherited a keen formal sensibility from his father and a sense of theatrical dramaturgy from his mother. These influences, fused with his own powerful imagination, informed works that distort and transform meticulously rendered human bodies while incorporating performative devices. Through such strategies, RYU exposed latent human anxiety, resentment, and psychological complexes, alongside an intense vitality and obsession with existence itself. His sculptures assert a commanding presence through their precise yet forceful figuration, standing apart from the prevailing trends of their time. In the 1990s, RYU introduced new forms of figurative sculpture that further expanded his sculptural vocabulary, eventually presenting experimental works that combined sculpture and installation to challenge conventional notions of sculptural space. His sculptures dramatize the dynamism and inner tension of human existence through bodies twisted by pain and anguish. The raw physicality evident in his work transcends corporeal suffering, symbolizing the strength of the human spirit striving toward freedom. Despite a career that spanned only about fifteen years and produced approximately seventy works, RYU In remains a significant figure in Korean contemporary sculpture. His untimely death at the age of forty-three did not diminish his legacy; rather, he is remembered as an artist who profoundly articulated the possibilities of realist figuration in the human body within Korean sculpture.

 

RYU In held solo exhibitions at GS Caltex Yeulmaru (2022, Yeosu, Korea), SOMA Museum of Art (2020, Seoul, Korea), ARARIO GALLERY (2015, 2016, Seoul, Cheonan, Korea), ARARIO MUSEUM (2015, Jeju, Korea), T Art Center (2010, Beijing, China), Moran Museum of Art (2004, Namyangju, Korea), and Insa Art Center (2001, Seoul, Korea). His work has been featured in group exhibitions at institutions including Seoul Museum of Art (2025, 1993, Seoul, Korea), Cheongju Museum of Art (2022, Cheongju, Korea), Pohang Museum of Steel Art (2021, 2019, Pohang, Korea), Leeum Museum of Art (2021, Seoul, Korea), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (1997, 1992, 1988, Gwacheon, Korea), and Sungkok Art Museum (1997, Seoul, Korea). His works are held in the collections of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Daegu Art Museum, Daejeon Museum of Art, Pohang Museum of Steel Art, Cheongju Museum of Art, Seoul Arts Center, Samsung Foundation of Culture, Gana Art Center, Moran Museum of Art, National Theater of Korea, and ARARIO Collection.