Korean Modern Art Goes to London
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
The best of contemporary Korean art will finally be in the spotlight in London in June. Korean Eye, Standard Chartered and Phillips de Pury & Company are organizing the ``Moon Generation'' exhibition and auction featuring 30 rising Korean artists such as Kwon Ki-soo, Debbi Han, Hong Kyoung-tack and Yi Hwan-kwon.
``Moon Generation'' is touted by the organizers as ``a world first in bringing together a group of leading Korean contemporary artists and galleries to create the first-ever international exhibition and sale of Korean contemporary art.''
Korean Eye founder and Parallel Media Group chairman David Ciclitira started the initiative to promote the best of Korean contemporary art, which remains relatively unknown compared to its Japanese and Chinese counterparts.
``I came back to Korea two years ago, and I was amazed by the rich contemporary art in Korea. It was fascinating and exciting, but not many know about it. London is the center of the art scene, and the idea was to bring Korean art there. I want to make sure Korean artists get the recognition they deserve,'' Ciclitira said, in a press conference, Tuesday.
The ``Moon Generation'' exhibition will be held June 20 to July 1 at the Phillips de Pury space at Howick Place, and June 20 to July 5 at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery. The works will be sold at the Phillips de Pury contemporary art sales July 2-3.
Lee Dae-hyung, who curated the exhibition, chose works by Korean artists which he felt were relevant in Korea, but would also be interesting and attractive for international collectors.
Phillips de Pury & Company chairman Rodman Primack hoped the exhibition and auction would help bring greater attention to Korean contemporary art.
``There are already well known Korean artists like Lee U-fan and Paik Nam-june, but the world hasn't connected with Korean contemporary art in the same way as Japanese and Chinese artists have. Ai Wei Wei and Takashi Murakami are very well known. The Korean wave hasn't started yet, although I see the level of quality to be the same, if not better than China and Japan,'' Primack said.
Ciclitira agreed, saying that Korea is a wonderful place but a lot of people are not aware or don't understand it. ``The problem is there's no champion of Korean art. As a collector, I see the talent here is probably superior to the Chinese or Japanese art. The challenge is to find people to promote Korean art for the long term. I think this exhibition will attract a lot of attention in London,'' he said.
London-headquartered banking group Standard Chartered is throwing its support behind the project to help create opportunities for Korean artists. ``As the largest foreign investor in the Korean financial services industry, Standard Chartered can serve as a bridge between Korea and the rest of the world in promoting Korean contemporary art in the international arena,'' said SC First Bank chairman Tim Miller.
Organizers are hoping to bring the exhibition to Singapore, Abu Dhabi and other cities around the world in the future. Korean Eye will also be organizing annual exhibitions over the next four years to create a legacy for Korean contemporary art.
A special ``Moon Generation preview'' will be held in Seoul, May 18-23. Visit www.koreaneye.org.