Forgotten art of jinchae painting makes silk canvas glitter like a stone, literally

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Forgotten art of jinchae painting makes silk canvas glitter like a stone, literally

Published: 03 Apr. 2025, 15:38 Updated: 04 Apr. 2025, 09:01

SHIN MIN-HEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

"Shedding" by Park Hye-rim [JINCHAE LAB]

[REVIEW]

For the past four years as a culture reporter covering the arts, from paintings and sculptures to design and crafts, I’ve visited many exhibitions, talked to plenty of artists and reported extensively on the industry, namely, fairs and auctions.

The only thing I hadn’t done during this time was to hold a paintbrush.

Tsui Yu Pei, a student at Jinchae Lab, right, on March 28 explains a jinchae (silk painting) piece she made for a previous exhibition organized by the studio. [JINCHAE LAB]

In my defense, the thought never crossed my mind. My primary job is to write about the brilliant minds behind the art that enriches our culture. And truth be told, I’m also not much of an artist.

But the tables turned on a recent Friday when I clumsily drew my first jinchae, or silk painting, of a peach tree branch with trembling hands.

For those wondering how I got into this situation, let’s start from the beginning.

It was a cold, windy afternoon in mid-January.

On most workdays, I visit an art exhibition and meet with its curator or featured artist, and this day was no different. I was at Gallery Grimson, located in the Insa-dong neighborhood of Jongno District, central Seoul, where I stumbled upon the jinchae genre for the first time.

Although jinchae has virtually vanished today, this traditional Asian art form has a deep history that goes all the way back to Buddhist paintings of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). Jinchae continued to flourish throughout the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) in royal decorative paintings and portraits.

The genre was enjoyed exclusively by royalty and aristocracy because it was pricey and demanding. Instead of using affordable oil paints or watercolors, it uses mineral pigments, like gold and malachite, the same substances one finds in fine jewelry. After crushing these gems into a powder, they’re mixed with glue and become the pigment, which is applied not to a regular canvas but to silk.

Given that silk was so valuable that it was used as currency at one point, jinchae was not a commoner-friendly genre.

Jeong Hae-jin, director of Jinchae Lab [JINCHAE LAB]

At the gallery, I met with the organizer who curated the jinchae exhibition: Jeong Hae-jin, the director of Jinchae Lab, a local studio dedicated to reviving the genre since 2015.

When I asked her why jinchae was so special, despite its unfamiliarity to the general public, Jeong simply told me to look at the paintings up close. Their beauty is like no other, she said.

“Jinchae is far more intricate and exquisite than other types of painting because it’s basically applying gemstones onto silk,” she said. “And because it uses minerals, jinchae is highly durable. It’s why we still see 500-year-old Buddhist paintings in pristine shape today.”

After a pleasant hourlong conversation learning about jinchae, Jeong invited me to visit her office after the impending Lunar New Year holiday — “maybe early February?” — saying she would gladly teach me more.

"Still Life 2" (2021) by Choi Ji-hee [JINCHAE LAB]

Sohee Myers, a student at Jinchae Lab, works on her jinchae, or silk painting, at the studio in southern Seoul. [JINCHAE LAB]

I was intrigued, but as always, life got in the way. My initial plan to visit in two weeks turned into two whole months before I got to step into the Jinchae Lab office in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, and finally fulfill that lingering itch.

That brings us back to the recent Friday. Several students, mostly middle-aged women, were already engaged in a class. Jeong told me that her classes, which were divided into a systemic curriculum, were popular among foreigners from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Japan.

That day, I met with two longtime international students of Jeong. One of them, 49-year-old Sohee Myers, permanently left her home in the United States last year with her husband after she found a burning passion for jinchae.

Naturally, I had to ask: “Is jinchae worth leaving your original life behind?” She replied, “Yes. The kids have grown, and now I have time to pursue my interests. I knew I couldn’t go back to painting oils or watercolors anymore after trying jinchae.”

Myers said baechae is one of jinchae’s most endearing aspects. Baechae is the traditional technique of coloring the back of sheer silk, adding more definition and depth to the overall painting.

Tsui Yu Pei works on her jinchae, or silk painting, in a class at Jinchae Lab in southern Seoul. [JINCHAE LAB]

Sohee Myers shows me her jinchae (silk painting) collection that she's made at Jinchae Lab in southern Seoul on March 28. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Sohee Myers shows me her jinchae (silk painting) collection that she's made at Jinchae Lab in southern Seoul on March 28. The silvery shine on the banana's tape is achieved from jinchae's mineral pigments. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

The other student, Tsui Yu Pei, a 48-year-old restaurateur from Taiwan, says she prefers silk over paper now because it gives a unique feel to the painting.

“Silk is more difficult to paint on,” she said, “but it’s definitely worth doing.”

It was time to test the theory: was the hype surrounding this underrated genre as great as everyone made it seem? Jeong whipped out a private beginner’s session for me, bringing out the relevant tools and a circular silk mesh in a faint pink color with a wooden frame. She had me tape a picture of a peach tree branch under the translucent mesh to trace it.

With a thin brush, I began to draw the edges of the image, but my hand began to shake ferociously. It was like a reflex — my brain, knowing I was accustomed to typing, initially rejected this new and unfamiliar task.

If I can be honest, I wasn’t surprised I was struggling with a paintbrush because I’ve always favored typing over my poor handwriting anyway.

The tools used in my one-time session of creating a jinchae, or silk painting, at Jinchae Lab in southern Seoul on March 28. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

My jinchae (silk painting) after I traced the image of a peach tree branch. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Jeong corrected my brush grip, explaining that I needed to hold it vertically and, most importantly, to “loosen up,” in the same way golfers shouldn’t be too stiff with their swings.

After what felt like 30 minutes to finish the outline of a drawing the size of my head, I sighed, knowing this was only the beginning. We made natural pigments of yellow and blue from sap and indigo plant, which we mixed to make shades of green for the tree leaves. Then we made brown for the branches and pink for the peach. I understood what Tsui meant by silk being more challenging to paint on — the paint was susceptible to leaving stains and being less permeable on the material.

Luckily, I learned that mistakes are tolerable in jinchae and that rubbing away paint with a Q-tip dipped in water would do the trick.

After I colored all the tree leaves and branches, Jeong told me to flip the painting over. It was time to try baechae, and I was instructed to color the back of the peach with a white pigment. After I was done, she flipped the painting again, and I discovered that the white had aided in creating the appearance of a milky pink rather than the silk’s existing faint pink color, distinguishing the fruit from the background.

In the process of making my first jinchae (silk painting), I tried baechae, or the traditional technique of coloring on the back of the sheer silk. Here, I flipped over my painting to the back and colored the peach in white. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

In the process of making my first jinchae, (silk painting), I tried baechae, or the traditional technique of coloring on the back of the sheer silk. Here, I flipped over my painting back to the front after coloring the back of the peach in white. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Jeong Hae-jin, director of Jinchae Lab, shows me how to add gradation effects to my jinchae, or silk painting, on March 28 at the studio in southern Seoul. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

On the front of the peach, I applied a couple of layers of pink and later added a gradation, and the peach became more lifelike by the minute.

Everything was colored in, and the painting seemed to be finished. Jeong said the final step was highlighting the painting with the mineral pigments. She poured some malachite powder into a tiny bowl and mixed it with gelatin-based glue, which I learned was made from the collagen extracted from boiling animal bones and skin. The malachite produced a vivid, rich turquoise hue. In small doses, I put it on the tips of leaves or the sides of the peach, and what was an ordinary 2-D image filled up with life. In terms of fashion, it was like the final touch of bold earrings or a statement handbag that completes what otherwise would have been a bland look.

I was in awe with my jinchae, thinking to myself, ‘Not too bad for a first-timer!’ Jeong appeared to have read my expression.

“This is why I always want people to try jinchae out for themselves,” she said. “You never fully realize its charm until you use jinchae as a tool to express your artistic creativity.”

The final result of my first jinchae, or silk painting. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Malachite, a mineral that's oftentimes used as pigments in jinchae, or silk paintings [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Types of minerals used in jinchae, or silk painting, that will later be mixed with glue to produce pigments [SHIN MIN-HEE]

For example, she would teach her students how to paint chaekgado, or intricate traditional still-life paintings of bookshelves and stationery, which reflected the Joseon aristocracy’s desires, and tell them to create their own versions. Tsui created one that featured Taiwanese liquor and other native goods.

Jinchae Lab frequently promotes its students’ works through exhibitions. Currently, one exhibit was made in collaboration with Bulgari at the Futura Seoul in Jongno District, and another reinterpreted Western paintings at the Gallery Hesed in Gangnam District.

The studio will also host one-time workshops targeting foreigners on April 22 and May 6. Those interested can register by calling Jinchae Lab (010-2045-7998). More information is available on its Instagram (@jinchae.lab).

“My only goal is for our research to help jinchae persist in today’s world,” Jeong said. “I don’t give the students the fish; I teach them how to fish. That’s how you feed them for a lifetime.”

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]

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Forgotten art of jinchae painting makes silk canvas glitter like a stone, literally

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