Magically realist - Maleonn alongside Colville in South Korea

Public Art, now one of the leading art magazines in South Korea, has recently come out with its May 2008 issue on the theme of SURREALISM and Maleonn is one of seven artists who are the focus of a 10-page editorial feature text-and-images essay, “Magic Realism,” on the global art scene. Alongside three reproduced images of Maleonn’s work are five images of Michael Parkes, two images by Vladimir Kush, two images by George Tooker, one image each by Patricia van Lubeck and Peter Blume, and four images by hyperrealist Canadian artist Alex Colville.

Although we tend to prefer the terms "fantastical" or "fabulist" to describe much of Maleonn’s body of work (as indeed noted by the Public Art editorial with its article byline, “Looking for fantasy in daily life, feeling the marvelous in reality…the world of ‘magic realism’”), Maleonn’s work is also most definitely connected to the “surreal” art tradition. The works selected for commentary in the editorial and as examples of Maleonn’s work are at p. 60 “Shanghai Boys No 10 (Dancing With Eyes Shut)” (the same work chosen for full-page reproduction by Enroute magazine in spring 2006; image to the right); “Unforgivable Children No 1 (Love)” at p. 61; and “Portrait of Mephisto No 5” at p 62 (image below). (“Magic Realism,”, Public Art (South Korea), Issue 20 (May 2008), pp 56-65. )

Incidentally, readers may be interested to learn that “Portrait of Mephisto No 5” was refused by the Paris-based International Herald Tribune for use in a booked Craig Scott Gallery ad in an art advertising section of the IHT. The gallery cancelled the booking, not without noting to IHT the irony of Western corporate (media, no less) censorship of a boundary-pushing Chinese artist.