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| A visitor to the "New Acquisitions 2013-6 Samramansang: from Kim Whanki to Yang Fudong" exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul (MMCA) views Kim Whan-ki's "Dawn #3," the most expensive piece at the museum. / Yonhap |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Despite its status as the flagship art museum of Korea, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), is relatively scanty in its collection, with only about 8,000 pieces.
The museum is working to expand its collection in quantity and quality and 932 new art pieces have been added to the collection over the last four years, including Kim Whan-ki's blue abstract painting "Dawn #3" for 1.3 billion won ($1.16 million) which became MMCA's most expensive possession ever.
The museum showcases "Dawn #3" and other selected works from its recent acquisitions at the exhibition "New Acquisitions 2013~16 Samramansang: from Kim Whanki to Yang Fudong" at its Seoul branch.
MMCA curator Park Mi-hwa, who is in charge of procurement for the museum's collection, said the purchase was possible thanks to an increased budget allotted to purchases.
MMCA's budget for collecting artwork was a mere 3.1 billion won in 2013, but it increased to 3.6 billion won in 2014, 5.3 billion won in 2015 and now 6.1 billion won.
"When the budget exceeded 5 billion won last year, I was able to persuade the museum to acquire a Kim Whanki piece through auction," Park said. "It is the most expensive piece the museum ever purchased and narrates the flow of time through Korean art, moving from figurativism and the New Realism Group to abstraction and modern ink landscape paintings."
Kim is currently the most expensive Korean artist with an auction sales record of 6.3 billion won. "Dawn #3," acquired by the MMCA, holds significance in Korean modern art history as the artwork was was showcased at the Sao Paulo Biennial in 1965 when Kim was the sole Korean artist invited there.
"We especially installed two lights for Dawn #3 to literally highlight the piece," Park said.
Showcasing diversity of Korean art
The title of the exhibition "Samramansang" is derived from an installation of the same name by Kang Ik-joong, originally meaning all things and all phenomena in the universe in Korean, as the exhibit aims to embrace the diversity of contemporary art and the artists.
The exhibit spans five galleries of MMCA, each representing different themes. Gallery 1 is headlined by Kang Ik-joong's installation composed of colorful ceramic squares as well as the Kim Whanki painting as the centerpiece.
It continues to "Daily Life" in Gallery 2, featuring art inspired by ordinary things in everyday life. Kiki Smith's "Corsage" and Ahn Chang-hong's "Bed Couch 1" portray the woman's body in symbolic ways, while Kim Eun-jin's "The Refrigerator" and Son Dong-hyun's "Logotype _ Coca Cola" exemplify young artists renewing traditional methods to express their thoughts.
On view at Gallery 3 and 4 are multidisciplinary works blurring the boundaries between art and life such as Lee Yong-baek's "Broken Mirror," Yoo Hyun-mi's "Cosmos" series and Lee Wan's "Made in" series, which will be presented at the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2017.
Two videos from Chinese artist Yang Fudong's "Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest" series take over Gallery 5. The videos reflect changes in modern society and how people live through it.
The exhibit runs until Aug. 13. Admission is 4,000 won. For more information, visit www.mmca.go.kr or call 02-3701-9500.
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