Moon Sin, sculptor

Moon Sin (1923-1995) was a sculptor. He was also a noted artist in France. He expressed the rhythm of the universe and life in his works. An art gallery in Masan is credited to Moon.
He was born in Japan in 1923, but grew up in Masan where he discovered his artistic talents. Thus Masan was his spiritual homeland. His childhood in Masan was not happy at all. He came to Masan when he was 5 years old, but he was a stranger there.
At school, he was more interested in catching insects than doing schoolwork. When alone, he would create sea waves, coastlines and houses using sand and mud. He first saw a collection of Western oil paintings at an art gallery in the area of the Citizen Theater, unexpectedly, when he was 11 years old. Painting then became a method for alleviating his loneliness. His formal art education began five years later, at the age of sixteen. At this time, he went to Japan and entered the Japanese Art School in Tokyo.
Moon's skills improved day by day. However, he never received awards at public subscription exhibitions because he was Korean. He came back to Korea and held private exhibitions in Seoul and Busan.
The homecoming exhibitions of Moon Shin caused a sensation, especially the private exhibition he held at the Seoul Donghwa Gallery (now the Shinsegae Department Store), which is known to have contributed dramatically to the growth of Western-style painting in Korea.
However, still not satisfied with the local accolades, he went to Paris, France in 1961 to experience a whole new world. He returned to Korea after five years of concentrating on abstract pictures, but then later went back to Paris to focus on engraving after having become interested in the process, and took on the part time job of maintaining an old castle.
Famous critics in France paid tribute to Moon and praised him. He stayed in Paris for twenty years during which he held thirty exhibitions displaying his unique formative art works in various European cities. He was awarded the Korea Sejong Cultural Prize in 1992 because of his role in raising respect for Korean engraving in the world. He settled down in Masan in 1980 and built a gallery, as well as holding numerous exhibitions.
In 1988, he sculpted a huge piece measuring 25 meters high to commemorate the Seoul Olympic Games.
In 1989, he participated in an international exhibition to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution by holding an exhibition in Europe. He was invited to Paris by the Paris City Gallery in 1992 and was awarded the Art and Culture Decoration by the government of France.
He finally opened the Moon Shin Art Gallery after opening the 50th Reminiscent Exhibition in Seoul in 1994. He died on May 24, 1995. One of the clauses in his will stated "I present my gallery to Masan".