Seoul: A large-scale retrospective exploring the works of Korean painter Lee Dai-won (1921-2005), known for his vivid landscapes of orchards, mountains, and ponds, will open this week at the Deoksugung branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), the museum announced Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the exhibition, titled "Lee Dai-won: Nothing Here Makes You Sad," will feature approximately 120 oil paintings and around 100 archival items, antique artworks, and documents spanning his nearly 70-year art career. This marks the first large-scale retrospective of the renowned painter, who has been affectionately dubbed "gentleman of the art scene," "magician of color," and "happiest painter in the world."

Lee Dai-won is celebrated for his unique approach to art, blending the colors and light of Korean traditional crafts with East Asian painting techniques. This distinctive style set him apart from popular Western trends and helped forge a new direction for Korean contemporary painting.

In addition to his artistic contributions, Lee was instrumental in promoting Korean art on the international stage through his operation of Bando Gallery, the country's first commercial gallery. The gallery played a key role in introducing the works of prominent Korean artists, including Park Soo-keun, Chang Ucchin, Kim Ki-chang, Kim Whan-ki, and Yoo Young-kuk, to audiences worldwide.

MMCA director Kim Sung-hee highlighted Lee's profound impact, stating, "Lee Dai-won was a cultural intellectual who contributed profoundly to laying the groundwork for exhibiting, teaching, and introducing Korean art to the world, and, in his own painting, an artist who spent a lifetime exploring the possibilities of a distinctly Korean contemporary painting."