Works from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea’s Art Bank to be seen in Seoul and Gimhae

[Financial News] Exhibitions exploring diverse currents in contemporary Korean sculpture through sculpture, media and installation works are being held in Seoul and Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. They combine works from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) Art Bank and Government Art Bank collections with works from the participating museums’ collections and loaned works.
According to the MMCA on the 10th, a total of 178 works will be presented to visitors through the Art Bank Collection Special Exhibition Support Program, in which SOMA Museum and Gimhae City Museum of Kim Young-won are participating. The exhibition combines 132 works from the Art Bank and Government Art Bank collections with 46 works from the participating institutions’ collections and loaned works. It is the first large-scale joint exhibition under the program.
The Art Bank is a system that supports artists’ creative work by purchasing their works and expands the public’s opportunities to experience art by lending the works to public and private institutions. It links support through art purchases with the use of the works acquired.
“Colony: Six Courtyards,” which opened on the 9th, is currently on view at Gallery 2 of SOMA Museum, located in Seoul’s Olympic Park. It presents about 80 sculptures, media works, installations and drawings by 48 artists, including Kim Ki-ra, Kim Byung-ho, Na Jeom-su, Shin Geon-woo, Jung Jung-joo and Choi Soo-ang.
Taking as a metaphor for a “colony” the landscape formed by the gathering of multiple works, the exhibition traces the expanding modes of expression in sculpture.
Gimhae City Museum of Kim Young-won will open “Sculpture Map: The Unfolding Atlas” in Exhibition Room 2 on the 13th. It will exhibit 14 sculptures by Kim Young-won and 77 works from the Art Bank and Government Art Bank collections by 64 other artists, including Kwon Dae-hoon, Kwon Osang, Yoon Suknam, Jung Hyun and Hong Soon-mo.
The museum, which opened this year, was established on the basis of a donation of works by Kim Young-won. The exhibition places his sculptures alongside works by a range of artists to highlight experimental tendencies in contemporary Korean sculpture.
While the Seoul exhibition focuses on the expansion of sculpture into other genres, the Gimhae exhibition places Kim Young-won’s works alongside the experiments of various artists. These are two approaches to interpreting public collections differently according to each museum’s space and theme.
Both exhibitions run through May 30 next year. Admission is 8,000 won at SOMA Museum and 2,000 won for adults, 1,000 won for teenagers and military personnel, and 500 won for children at Gimhae City Museum of Kim Young-won. SOMA Museum offers free admission to groups from elementary, middle, high schools and universities that book in advance.
“We will work to bring public artworks to more visitors and ensure that cooperation among museums leads to a wider range of exhibition experiences,” said Yoon Tae-wook, acting director of the MMCA.
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