Joint planning and exchange exhibitions with world-renowned art institutions including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the United States, the National Art Museum of China in China, and the ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM) in Germany are confirmed.

[ZKM] MMCA 《Sungi Kim》 exhibition view. Photo: provided by MMCA

As part of an internationalization project to promote Korean art to the world, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA, Director Youn Bummo) has confirmed to hold joint planning exchange exhibitions with major overseas art institutions including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (in New York) in the United States, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Art Museum of China in China, and the ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM) in Germany in 2021-2022.

First, MMCA co-organizes “Avant-garde: Korea's Experimental Art Exhibition of the 1960s and 1970s” with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, which represents the eastern United States. This exhibition contains major works and materials containing experimental art activities at the time, such as the ‘Young Artists Association Exhibition’ (1967), the ‘AG Exhibition’ (1969-1975), and the Group (1979-1980), in the context of Korean art history. In addition, the works of representative artists such as Kangso Lee, Keonyong Lee, Seungtaek Lee, Gurim Kim, and Neungkyung Sung will be introduced, and this exhibition will be held sequentially in both institutions in 2022. In particular, 《Youth Artists Association Exhibition》 was the first attempt to show off-plan experimental art to the Korean art organization centered on figurative painting and Informel. In addition, the Group has significance as a pioneering group that attempted to overcome the absence of logic and analysis, which was mentioned as a dilemma of Korean art at the time, as objects, solids, and events. In this exchange exhibition, exhibiting items, publications, and academic events that can show all of Korean experimental art, centering on the 1960s and 1970s, will be covered through joint research and collaboration between both institutions.

[LACMA] Kwaedae Lee, Self-portrait wearing a blue scroll, late 1940s, oil on canvas,
72 × 60 cm, private collection

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), one of the best contemporary art museums in the western United States, is scheduled to hold a special exhibition on the theme of Korean contemporary art in the fall of 2022. Until now, exhibitions on the theme of Korean contemporary art have been held in Japan, but this is the first time that the United States or Europe is showing interest on Korean art from this period. MMCA and LACMA signed a MOU on co-hosting an exhibition in June of this year, and promised joint research and practical cooperation for holding the exhibition. The exhibition plans to show a large number of representative works of major Korean artists from the 1900s to the 1960s. It is expected to be an important opportunity to introduce the dynamics of Korean history and art to the world by presenting images of the times through oil paintings and Korean paintings as well as photographic materials of the time.

In addition, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and China in 2022, the MMCA, and the National Art Museum of China, which is the national museum of contemporary art in China, will jointly hold a collection exchange exhibition and international academic events. MMCA and the National Art Museum of China signed an MOU on exchange exhibition, joint academic research, and personal exchange in June of this year. In MMCA, works by artists representing China's Modern and Contemporary Art, such as Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian, Pan Tianshou, Chuan Baoshi, Yu Feian, Wu Changshuo, Zhao Zhiqian, Qi Baisha, and Wu Zuoren, acquired by the National Art Museum of China will be introduced, and the National Art Museum Of China will introduce representative works of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea.

[National Art Museum Of China] Youn Bummo (Director of MMCA) and WuWeishan met at the National Art Museum Of China in June, National Art Museum of China

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