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North Korean Art: Paradoxical Realism at the 2018 Gwangju Biennale is an exhibition that reflects the culmination of an eight-year exploration into the art of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). During that time, BG Muhn made nine research trips to the DPRK to pursue a growing passion for the uniqueness and mystery surrounding Chosonhwa, the North Korean name for traditional ink wash painting on rice paper.
The DPRK is notably the only country in the world after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 that continues to create Socialist Realism art. This exhibition is likely the first opportunity for people around the world to see North Korean Chosonhwa in such a broad range of images within Socialist Realism art.

BG Muhn started his art career after receiving a bachelor’s from California College of the Arts and a master’s from the University of Maryland-College Park. Eight years after arriving in the U.S., he beat out hundreds of competitors to gain a professorship at the Department of Art and Art History of Georgetown University, where he is now a tenured professor.
　　　　As an artist, Muhn has held solo exhibitions at Stux Gallery in Chelsea, New York, Gallery Scape and Ilmin Museum of Art in Seoul, and American University Museum in Washington, D.C. His works have been reviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Art in America and he has been interviewed by CNN. His works are displayed at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) and Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA).
　　　　Intrigued by Pyongyang art since 2011, Muhn has embarked on a new challenge as an artist. Contemporary North Korean Art: The Evolution of Socialist Realism (June 18-August 14, 2015), an exhibition he curated for American University Museum in Washington, D.C., in 2016, drew major attention from the American media. He was also selected to curate the exhibition North Korean Art: Paradoxical Realism at the 2018 Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, preparing to introduce North Korean art focused on collaborative painting. He has traveled to the North Korean capital nine times to interview artists there, attend exhibitions, visit museums, collect materials, and perform analysis, culminating in the March 2018 publication of his book Pyongyang Art: Uncovering the Complex Layers of Chosonhwa (Seoul Selection).

A Journey of Investigation 6
Relying on Primary Source Research 8
What Has Been Developed Over the Past Six Decades of North Korean Art 10
Ink Wash on Rice Paper 14
The Expression of North Korean-ness 16
The Distinctive Characteristics of Chosonhwa 22
Socialist Realism Ideological Painting 24
The Core of Socialist Realism Collaborative Painting 27
Propagandistic Elements in Collaborative Painting Melodramatic Traits 41
Kitsch Elements Beloved by North Korean 43
Landscape Painting with Unexpected Power 44
Waves in Ink Wash Painting Rice Paper 50
The Obsession to Capture Reality 53
The Tradition of Literati Painting in the DPRK 55
The Auspicious Connotations to the People of the DPRK 62
Uniformity or Assumption 65
Art as the Triumph of Transcending Life's Struggle 67
A Manifestation of Human Spirit & Emotion 69
Art Can Be Still Victimized by Political Ideology 71
The list of artworks 75

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