Orchids and poems

Jo Hui-ryong originated from the chungin, the middle class between the yangban (scholar officials) and commoners that emerged during the Joseon period. Like other chungin artists who sought to establish themselves as a new urban elite, Jo managed to distinguish himself in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. His early career writings and paintings were greatly influenced by his teacher Kim Chong-hui (1786–1856) but developed into a more personal style in his later years. Compared to Kim Chong-hui’s orchid paintings, which shied away from expressing strong emotions, Jo’s orchid paintings tend to resist the traditional literati approach in favor of more individualistic and worldly values. According to the inscription, the orchids in Jo’s painting are not so much scholarly symbols of humility and nobility, as they are flowers that express a simple feeling of mundane joy. (“Tradition, Transmission, and Transformation in East Asian Art,” curated by Cornell PhD student Yuhua Ding under the supervision of Ellen Avril and presented at the Johnson Museum January 23-June 12, 2016)