Biography

Spring comes to Seoul softly and ingratiatingly, without traditional Russian resistance of parting winter frosts to incipient warmth of the sun.
Korean spring is all woven of supple vibrating lines of easily recognizable landscapes, of illusive contours of valleys and mountain ranges in hazy delicate green.
It is exactly how the Russian audience imagined as recently as in the mid-1970s Korean painting and the basic aesthetic principles shaping consciousness of painters in the regions of South-East Asia.
Looking at Li De Don's works, in no way one can say that the author obediently follows regulations of traditional painting school of his country. His canvases are filled with energy and sensitivity, more characteristic of the European avant-garde which happily dissolved in the second half of the XX century in American art and acquired there additional meaning and coloring.

 

Li De Don has conscientiously come to acceptance of the new forms of self-expression,- having passed through himself Western and American musical and art culture, putting into practice his original design ideas, philosophically comprehending the phenomenon of Russian space.
His interest in Russia cannot be explained by mere curiosity of the artist. There is deep moral implication in the series of works created by him in the Far East of Russia. "...Russia - the mother of expanses!", - exclaims the artist, highlighting these expanses with infinite rows of rhythmically recurring canvases.
For Li De Don, perception of Russian spirituality is a romantic insight into international perfection.
It seems as if the artist aims at creation of the whole series of individual worlds, painting declarations, picture letters appealing to Man.

 

 

Sometimes his works are frankly sensual, as in his series "Vladivostok today", sometimes they are declarative - like in the series "We are the world".
In some of his works Li De Don does not conceal his irony towards routine and vanity leading people away into the world of stock phrases, mechanical actions, trivial acts.
And these paintings are superseded with absolutely different works - full of light, contrasts, symbolical collisions of colorful spots ("Whisper", "Dream", series "Vladivostok today").
Color in Li De Don's works deserves a separate mention. Because it is right here that this avant-garde artist unexpectedly and fully demonstrates his kinship with traditions of his national culture. Dazzling, deep blue color, which is called Indian blue, has always been the favorite color of Korean artists. They tried to reproduce the colors of sea and sky in their painting of palaces, items of weaving art, in their clothes which they painted with juice of the plant called "chok".

 

 

In Li De Don's palette, this deep blue color multiplied by saffron shine of yellow paint creates a wonderful feeling of freedom and delight - which formulate disposition of the artist himself.
Li De Don's world of painting is not some imagined but a rather concrete world. The world on the eve of Spring, the world in anticipation of changes for the better, the world full of hopes and love expectations. These are not 180 separate images, but rather single continuously developing, changing, self-improving image of Spring.
The main point in today's creative work of Li De Don is that exactly in Russia he perceived the symbolism of light, achieved brightness and colorfulness of his canvases, learnt to speak about quite realistic things by means of abstract forms.
Two years which he spent in Russia were filled to the limit with events: the artist studied, taught, painted pictures, took part in exhibitions.
Korean artist Li De Don has inherent thirst for the ideal, which makes him seek new paints and forms. And after that - there comes his new comprehension of life, of the world, of the future: without violence, without aggression, without fright. Of the clean world of Spring…
L.G. Kozlova
2002