1950년대 이경성의 미술비평관

The purpose of this paper is to reassess the contribution of Lee Kyung-sung as art critic who became active since 1953, focusing on his criticism published in the 1950s. Although some artists also wrote criticism on artwork, Lee was the only professional art critic during the decade. Despite harsh milieu, he developed his own critical viewpoint while writing reviews on exhibitions, in which he claimed that Korean artists should seek reality and modernity in their artworks for the development of Korean art. He was able to publish his criticism in limited venues such as newspapers and magazines. Thus, most of his writings tend to be brief, yet his criticism was severe and pointed. Although his criticism tends to provide evaluations rather than close analyses and profound interpretations about his contemporary art, his criticism published in the 1950s provides important basic information of art and art criticism of the period, which serves significantly in restoring Korean modern art.