*가나다순

경기문화재단

A Note from the Curator

Gyeonggi Museum of Modern art


This catalogue is published in conjunction with 2017-2018 Korea–Germany Contemporary Art Exchange Exhibition Irony & Idealism. It documents all exhibitions and artworks at 3 venues in Korea and Germany-Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, KF Gallery and Kunsthalle Münster-from September 2017 until September 2018.

Gail Kirkpatrick(Director of Kunsthalle Münster)




As the curator responsible for the final presentation of the traveling exhibition Irony & Idealism, I felt inspired to explore what meanings its redolently ambiguous title evokes within the context of Münster. During a panel discussion at the Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, in Ansan, South Korea, the artists talked about what the title implied in terms of their own artistic production. They mostly related it to the pursuit of an ultimately unattainable artistic ideal that constitutes the never-ending ironic dilemma of artistic production. As the curator of the exhibition in Germany I had other considerations in mind.


The diverse oeuvres of the eight artists in the show cover a wide spectrum of media, from painting and sculpture/installation to video and conceptual works. Yet despite the obvious differences in production methods, they reveal a certain commonality in terms of artistic language. I have participated in other international exchange projects where I was confronted with such diverse artistic modes of expression that I literally felt lost in a visual translation; however, these artists move within the conceptual and perceptual parameters of an artistic lexicon that delineates critical standards for intellectual and visual communication in the international art world.


As Gregor Jansen pointed out in his discussion of new Korean art in the context of internationalism, creative production is involved in a network of forces predicated on global media culture, technological advancement, and all forms of design, advertising, and popular culture. Products like Mercedes Benz, Hyundai, Apple, and Samsung set the tone for contemporary communication, which in turn influences the visual language of art. In this globalized context the audience is confronted with artistic forms of expression that transcend political boundaries and reach audiences spanning the globe.



Jisan Ahn, A life in the Ocean Wave oil on canvas, 200×290cm, courtesy Johyun Gallery, 2016


A rather utopic idealism presupposes any notion of a universal artistic language, yet the prevalent forms of artistic expression are already accessible to an international public and can be understood as enhancing multinational mutual understanding. Ironically it is this underlying similarity in aesthetic expression that allows for articulation and understanding of the cultural differences found in the thematic considerations of the South Korean and German artists, such as how they reflect upon their own histories, attitudes about social conduct, and personal biographies.


The works of two painters in the exhibition, Jisan Ahn and Michael van Ofen, illustrate this principle. Both artists employ a style predicated on a method of reduction that can be seen to reflect the autonomy of painting. Their artistic languages reflect their roots in the Modernist tradition, particularly in their articulation of what constitutes the essential elements of a painting and the expressive potentials of pure color and form. Their works can equally be enjoyed for their abstract painterly qualities, which place them solidly in the context of an international art historical language. Yet the respective thematic considerations communicated by the paintings of these two artists clearly indicate that their mindsets have been nurtured in decidedly different cultural contexts.


Van Ofen concentrates on the deconstruction of European painting traditions, predominantly Italian and German landscapes, portraits, and genre paintings. He has taught himself nineteenth-century painting techniques as a way to dissect the essence of a profoundly Western mode of expression at a time when its descriptive naturalism came into question with the advent of photography. Ahn’s works also reflect on a pictorial tradition of his country, offering the viewer subtle impressions of Korea at a time of nascent consumerism. His newest works are based on images gleaned from commercials and advertisements produced in the 1970s, their language reflecting a longgone Korean sensibility through subtle, emotionally charged moments culled from the collective memory.  


Michael van Ofen ,Landscape oil on canvas, 38×42cm, 2007


Exhibitions that take national identity as a selection criterion open up avenues of discourse about the possibility of communicating cultural diversity via common artistic languages. The title of this exhibition proves suitable to this endeavor: it is precisely the junction between idealism and irony, the sense of a formal artistic idealism coupled with the ironic possibility of questioning its own premises, that makes this project a dynamic cultural exchange with critical potential. The cultural dichotomy is made more profound and complex by the fact that many of the Korean artists studied in the United States and Europe.


Within the globalized multiplicity of our highly mobile contemporary society, the pursuit of an accepted common denominator for communication is paramount for peaceful coexistence, and yet different cultural heritages must still be acknowledged, and even celebrated, as positive expressions of human diversity and individual identity. Cultural-exchange programs like Irony & Idealism offer important opportunities for reflection on these essential human conditions.


Exhibition Scene

세부정보

  • IRONY & IDEALISM

    Publisher/ Sul Wonki

    Chief Editor/ Choi Eunju

    First Edition/ July 31. 2018

    Published by/ Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art

  • List of Artists/ Ahn Jisan, Bae Young-whan, Björn Dahlem, Gimhongsok, Hwayeon Nam, Michael van Ofen, Manfred Pernice, Yoon Jongsuk

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