By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Korean curator Rhee Won-il has been appointed as curator to the 2008 Seville Biennale, and as guest curator for the Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) Asian contemporary art exhibit in New York in 2009.
In a meeting with reporters last week, Rhee admitted feeling a lot of pressure as he faces the challenge of organizing two major exhibitions.
``I feel like I'm in the Yankee Stadium, and I need to throw a strike ball to win the World Series,'' Rhee said.
Rhee's first priority is his work with the 3rd International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Seville, which will be held from Oct. 2, 2008 to Jan. 11, 2009 in the Spanish city.
He talked about the Seville Biennale's theme ``YOUniverse,'' which refers to the interactivity of each individual with his own personal universe. Aside from Rhee, members of the artistic team include Peter Weibel, general director of the ZKM Centre for Art and Media, Germany and Marie-Ange Brayer, director of the Regional Center of Contemporary Art of Orleans, France
``It will be something different. I think Seville has the biggest potential to compete with Venice Biennale,'' Rhee said.
As for the NY MoMA exhibit, Rhee said he received an invitation from the MoMA last July to talk about his curatorial work for the exhibition ``Thermocline of Art: New Asian Waves,'' at the ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany.
In September, he was informed he was one of the candidates being considered as guest curator for an upcoming exhibit at the MoMA and P.S.1. MoMA. He presented a paper on the theme ``Spectacle,'' taking inspiration from Guy Debord's theoretical works ``Society of Spectacle.''
Rhee believes the time that Asia is always looking to the West is over, and suggests that the West should look at Asia in a new light. He said this would give a more balanced, healthier perspective.
Then, in November, Rhee received the good news that he was named as guest curator for the exhibit, which will run from May to September 2009.
``Spectacle'' is described as an ``exciting look at technology-based contemporary art from Asia.'' It will feature 50 artists from 20 countries, whose works incorporate robotics, digital video and computer science. The works will be on view at the MoMA in New York City and P.S.1. Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City, Queens.
Several Korean artists are expected to participate in the exhibit, including Rhee Ki-bong, whose work ``Bachelor: The Dual Body'' caught the organizers' attention.
Rhee was the curator for the Gwangju Biennale, Shanghai Biennale and artistic director for the Seoul Media City Biennale. He has been involved in planning prominent media art exhibitions in Korea and around the world.