* The exhibition period is extended to 30th May 2020.

* Temporary Opening Hours:  Tue-Sat 12:00-17:00

The Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong Presents the Upcoming Exhibition "MMCA Art Bank Collection"

Period:  March 12–May 30, 2020
Venue:   6–7/F, Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong (KCC)
Artists:  34 artists including KIM Tschang-yeul (金昌烈, 1929– ), CHUNG Sanghwa (鄭相和, 1932– ), LEE Dong Youb (李東熀, 1946–2013), SUH Yong-sun (徐庸宣, 1951– ), and NOH Sun-tag (憦瞬烢, 1971– )
Number of artworks:  34 pieces
Curator:  WOO Hansol (Manager, Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong)
Organizer:  Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA)

The exhibition "MMCA Art Bank Collection" consists of 34 major art pieces in the collection of the MMCA, featuring masterpieces of Dansaekhwa (Korean monochrome painting) by pioneers of Korean modern art including KIM Tschang-yeul (金昌烈), CHUNG Sanghwa (鄭相和), and LEE Dong Youb (李東熀), as well as a selection of fine art and media art by promising Korean artists.

The exhibition is divided into three parts: The Color, The City, and The Convergence.

Dansaekhwa arose during the 1970s and is still one of the most representative art genres of Korea. Following Dansaekhwa, abstract painting became mainstream in the Korean art scene of the late 20th century. In The Color, nine vibrant canvases show how Korean abstract paintings with refined colors have changed over the decades. Besides abstraction, the exhibition will also present more recent paintings showcasing the unique palettes of contemporary artists.

The City shows figurative paintings depicting the cityscape of Seoul. The paintings portray fragments of urban life and the ordinary scenery encountered by city people every day. Some of the works reveal the artists' creative interpretations of the city's traits. This theme is explored through not only oil on canvas but also various media such as mirror, pigment print, and single-channel video.

In The Convergence, the art pieces express Korean-themed subjects through Western media, or vice versa. One will find oil-on-canvas works recalling the aesthetic of modern Asian ink paintings, for example, or compositions inspired by Western abstraction rendered in ink on traditional Korean handmade paper. Also on display is a series of photographs portraying Haenyeo (women divers) of U-do, a small island off the coast of Jeju. The photographer observed this quintessentially Korean subject through the eye of his camera—among the most important Western inventions of the 19th century.

The artworks in this special exhibition were selected by the KCC in consultation with the Department of Conservation and Art Bank at MMCA. After this exhibition, some of the pieces will be kept at KCC for a year and put on display during special occasions.


About MMCA Art Bank Collection        

Art Bank, a subsidiary of MMCA, was established in February 2005 to stimulate Korea’s art market, popularize art, and realize cultural rights by purchasing, renting, and exhibiting works by Korean artists.

One of the main goals of Art Bank is to lead Korea’s arts industry, and to introduce new and diverse projects to push it forward. Art Bank purchases quality art through various routes, and arranges loans and exhibitions with government institutions, cultural organizations, and companies so that the works may be enjoyed by the greater public. Select pieces are displayed at overseas government offices, promoting Korean contemporary art all over the world.

Inaugurated in December 2018, MMCA Cheongju is the museum's fourth branch, and the first outside of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. MMCA Cheongju launched the first open storage in Korea, showcasing artworks from the collections of the museum and Art Bank. Visitors are able to view the collections and conservation activities through glass windows, enjoying a vast number of art pieces not usually on display, as well as understanding the hidden functions of art museums through MMCA Cheongju's open-storage concept.

KIM Tschang-yeul 金昌烈, Recurrence, 2003, oil on canvas, 72.8 × 60.6 cm

CHUNG Sang-hwa 鄭相和, Untitled, 1980, frottage on Korean paper, 90 × 72 cm

LEE Dong-youb 李東熀, Interspace, 2002, acrylic on canvas, 160 × 260 cm

SUH Yong-sun 徐庸宣, Dokdo Island 2, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 181.5 × 220.7 cm

NOH Sun-tag 憦瞬烢, Black Feather #CHL0701, 2017, archival inkjet pigment print, 85 × 125  (4 pieces each) cm