A retrospective of work by noted local photographer runs February 12th through May 18th
One of the Northwest’s most accomplished photographers, Johsel Namkung, drew on his classical music training to create a visually stunning body of work in color and black-and-white photography.
Born in Gwangju, Korea, Namkung showed an early interest in the arts, studying at the Tokyo Conservatory of Music and winning the All-Japan Music Contest in 1940. After marrying classical musician Mineko Suematsu in 1941, the couple joined the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and later the Seoul Symphony Orchestra. They moved to Seattle in 1947 to attend the University of Washington.
To support their two daughters, Johsel worked as a language specialist and later apprenticed with Seattle photographer Chao-Chen Yang, mastering color processing. His photography career took off after attending a workshop with Ansel Adams in 1958. He balanced artistry and practicality, working in a Seattle color processing lab and later as a medical photographer at the University of Washington from 1961 to 1982.
Johsel befriended notable Northwest artists such as John Matsudaira and Mark Tobey, who often joined him on piano. He had solo exhibitions at the Henry Art Gallery in 1966 and the Seattle Art Museum in 1978. After Mineko’s death in 1999, Johsel married Monica Jung in 2002, who continues to preserve his legacy.
The exhibition can be seen beginning February 12th at the Cascadia Art Museum, 190 Sunset Ave. S. in Edmonds
