Regarding the controversy over the fact that singer and painter Solbi won the Grand Prize at the International Arts Awards, former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon took part in the debate, saying, "It's a problem to understand that I went to art school as my status."
Former professor Jin shared an article about Solbi on his social media account and argued that it is not justified to criticize Solbi for being a celebrity and non-artist, saying, "A writer is a function, not an identity."
Solbi won the 'Grand Artist Award' at the '2021 Barcelona International Art Award' held in Barcelona, Spain earlier this month.
Solbi was invited as the main artist and presented a total of 13 works, and the judge Robert Imos said, "It received high marks for dynamic expression and originality. His works contain a lot of meaning along with nostalgia."
However, after the news of Solbi's award, there were claims from some that "it was an unauthorized event" and "it was a plagiarism work".
Writer Lee Kyu-won, who is called Hongdae Lee Writer, appeared on YouTube channel on the 9th and said, "I got a lot of calls after the article about Solbi's award. I think it's a problem," he said.
He said, "Art fair is not an exhibition, but a place to buy and sell works.More than 1,000 artists participated in the Korean art fair, but about 60 people participated in the art fair where Solbi won the grand prize.”
He continued, "Solbi, who had the largest booth, paid the most money to participate." He said, "Solbi said that she was invited, but if that's the case, all the participants paid the booth fee to be nominated for the award. If they received the grand prize, suspicions arise that the target was selected.”
The incumbent painter also said through his YouTube broadcast, "What kind of authority is there to give an artist an award for just two days of exhibition by ripping out the booth fee and participation fee. It is absolutely not an authoritative award."
In response to this, Solbi's side explained that through an interview, the art fair organizing committee sent an official letter saying they wanted to invite him, and he was invited, and he did not pay the participation fee because he was invited.
He also countered the claim that the event was not authoritative, saying, "It is a prestigious art event in Barcelona, which has been 10 years since the exhibition this year."