60thAnni The quiet rise of contemporary Korean art

By Ines Min

While the government encourages the dissemination of hansik, Korean food, into the global sphere and entertainers are causing ripples of influence through hallyu, the Korean wave, contemporary Korean art has been steadfast in its goal to become a mainstay in the international art scene.

The country first staked its flag in the industry in 1995, when the official Korean Pavilion for the Venice Biennale was built and the debut of Gwangju Biennale started a new era of art events here. In the 15 years since, Korea has shed its political image for a creative one, established its own international art fair and built sapling networks, according to experts in the field.

“Westerners who kept a watch on Asian art mostly came from an Orientalism point of view,” said Choi Hye-ju, a spokesperson for the Exchanges & Cooperation Division for Arts Council Korea, the organizer of the Korean Pavilion at the world’s largest biennale in Venice. “And in the case of Korea, there were a lot of people who viewed the art with a political viewpoint because of North-South relations.

“Managing the Korean Pavilion for the last 15 years... we have been able to introduce a variety of Korean art from paintings, to media art and conceptual pieces. It has been an opportunity to get the foreign audience to understand a more extensive spectrum of Korean art.”

The pavilion, which saw around 190,000 visitors during last year’s art biennale, has garnered several small victories since its inception, including artist Jeon Soo-cheon being awarded a special prize in its inaugural year. In 2007, Haegue Yang became the first artist to hold a show both in a national pavilion and the recently restored Arsenale exhibition venue of the biennale, an exposure which soon led to the sale of a work to New York’s MOMA.

“For a long time the focus was on North America and Western Europe, but third-world countries and Asian art are breaking in as the new focus of the diversity-prioritized 21st century,” Choi said. “Under these circumstances, artists are entering the global field with a talent in myriad fields, shedding the Western-centered thought of existing Korean art and the viewpoint of Orientalism.”

Making one’s presence known within the industry through international fairs and exchanges has also helped Korea burgeon into the spotlight so long held by Japan and China. While Asian art fairs such as the staple Hong Kong and Korea events saw the attendance of major players Pyo Gallery, Gallery Hyundai and more, this year also saw the return of Kukje Gallery to the hip Frieze Art Fair for its second appearance, selling more than 80 percent of its exhibited artwork.

This year’s pioneering London fair, known for its open ambiance and entertaining programs from artists’ talks to live performances, sold more than 94 million pounds (169 billion won) worth of art, doubling its profits from the year before. While Kukje did not reveal any specific figures, Kim Hong-seok was the big seller, and multiple editions of his work “Love,” a parody of Robert Indiana’s popular sculpture that comprises a withering word, were sold.

The first entirely-online international art fair will take place in January 2011, moving into the technological world with co-founder Gallery Hyundai, while PKM Gallery and One and J. Gallery are also expected to participate. The vast networking site, through which buyers, artists and gallerists can interact individually, will be accessible from anywhere, helping boost Korea as a rising, constant force in the evolving world of art.

International relations have grown as well, and the currently ongoing “Picasso and Modern Art” exhibition at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Deoksugung, sees the first large-scale collaboration between an Asian venue and the prestigious Albertina Museum in Vienna, famous for its million-plus prints and expansive collections.

The exhibition — which follows in the wake of the large-scale, Asian-historical showcase held in collaboration with the National Art Gallery, Singapore — is simultaneously serving as the world premiere for roughly 30 original prints from the little-known Der Blauer Reiter movement, a pivotal period in the history of Expressionism. Discovered only earlier this year by a private collector, the rare artwork was donated to the museum in a permanent loan, and was originally planned for a European debut this year

“We didn’t know about (the prints), because they had never announced it, because they had never been shown to the world,” Park Soo-jin, a MOCA curator for the exhibition, told The Korea Times. But after learning about the work, she explained, a persistent determination didn’t let up until the Vienna museum agreed to lend the pieces to Deoksugung. Although several of the paper prints are in fragile condition, the Albertina consented, going so far as to postpone its own exhibition unveiling by six months. Ultimately, most of the 39-piece Bernal Collection was sent to Korea along with the main Batliner Collection.

“When I went to see (the prints), even the frames were brand new,” Park said of the Bernal art. “The frames were made for their first exhibition here. They were really well-hidden works, ranging from 70- to 100-years-old.”

“I think that there was a little bit of worry because Korea isn’t that well known, although Japan is a little more recognized,” said the curator of any difficulties bringing the hefty collection to the East. After visits to the museum’s facilities by the Albertina director, security briefings and a personal recommendation from the head of the Vienna art museum association, the exhibition came together in less than a year.

“Because we have had a lot of exchanges, now our director Bae Soon-hoon goes to the U.S. and Europe, to the Whitney or the MOMA, to meet with other directors and figure out which direction the museum should go. As he travels, he’s always asking others, ‘What do you think of this?’ in regards to the new Seoul venue,” Park said in reference to expansion plans for the museum.

“More than being a local establishment that just holds the title of national art museum, we’re making a lot of effort to really step up to that role.”

It’s not always as simple as meet-and-greeting, as independent curator Jung Me is well aware. The Korean-born, Berlin resident recently returned to her native country for a collaborative group show at the Aram Nuri Arts Center in Goyang, bringing in the likes of American rocker Peaches and avant-garde legend Katharina Sieverding.

Attending school in the mid-1990s at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, Jung said that while there were many fellow Korean students, not many knew of Korean contemporary endeavors — save for Fluxus pioneer Nam June Paik. However, the years since have seen a surprising change in awareness, and she was pleasantly taken aback by the artists’ willingness for her latest show.

“All of the participating artists readily agreed to the exhibition except in the case of Katharina Sieverding, who asked for a more concrete description of the concept firt,” Jung said in an email interview.

“Unexpectedly there were a lot of German artists who have an interest in Korean contemporary art. So there was no need to explain anything about Korea; we only discussed the concept of the exhibition.”

However, Jung noted that the fight is far from over for Korea to reach the truly global level of the art giants. “Although there are a lot of capable Korean artists working hard in domestic activities, it’s difficult for artists to enter the foreign (market) except for those few,” she said. “There is no strategic infrastructure in which Korean artists and curators can build a base for international activities.

“Even the global network that Korean-born curators have is extremely thin. It’s difficult for Korean artists to be invited to major international exhibitions because of a lack of information.”