Young Korean Artists 2023: Annotating the Museum

Artist: Kim Kyoungtae, Kim Dongshin, Kim Hyunjong, Mu:p, Heechan Park, Paik Jongkwan, COM, O Hezin, Lee Dami, Chung Hyun, Jo Gyuyub, Chu Mirim, Hwang Dongwook

Post-Young Korean Artists
Young Korean Artists, a regular exhibition held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) with 40 years of history, is one of the oldest and most prestigious museum programs geared towards discovering young talented artists. As the first exhibition held after the 40th anniversary f Young Korean Artists, this year’s exhibition presents a new attempt. As such, the new endeavor focuses on expanding the genre and medium of the exhibited works to architecture and design-centered projects and sheds light on the “exploring or experimenting” aspect as much as it does on the “young” element of the works.

The 13 artists (and artist teams) participating in this exhibition stand at the forefront of their art world, setting original trends that are different from the previous generation of artists. These architects, space designers, graphic designers, photographers, and media artists transcend the traditional production methods and outcomes of each genre, traversing across the visual art systems. The exhibited works stand independently as an extension of the artists’ previous works and interpret the subject of this exhibition.

Annotating the museum
Young Korean Artists 2023 is about “annotating the museum.” The subjects to annotate include the museum’s space, exhibitions and experiences. The 13 “footnotes,” or works, expand each of the artist’s own spatial/temporal context of the institutional space of the art museum. Inserting footnotes signifies a practical gesture of expanding the point of connection between the self (artist) and the museum. The visual languages, demonstrated through the production process and outcome of the works, strike up a conversation with the space, exhibition, and experiences of the museum, which were elements that were previously often overlooked. Young Korean Artists 2023: Annotating the Museum explores such narratives through the works of young artists, who experiment with diverse mediums and new methodologies of production.

Exploring the “art museum space”
The subject for Young Korean Artists 2023 is the “museum space,” or specifically “MMCA Gwacheon,” which is the site for this exhibition. The artists contemplate and explore the space of the art museum. MMCA Gwacheon is an old museum, which opened in 1986. There are recent talks about changing the space infrastructure of this museum which has supported artists, artworks and exhibitions for a long period of time. Before such changes take place, however, a look into the space forms that contain the works, artists, and even the audience is essential. Architecture and design today, where global issues like climate crisis and carbon neutrality are accelerating the changes that take place in art spaces and systems, become a very useful yet critical frame through which to explore these issues.

How should we look at the art museum space, which has been inviting artists, supporting artworks and creating sites for exhibitions in the last 40 years, on the brink of its transformation in terms of space? On the other hand, what can the artists, artworks and art exhibitions do in order to open up new windows of awareness? These questions prompt us to reflect on the past endeavors of the art museum, including the previous records and exhibitions of the museum. Young Korean Artists 2023: Annotating the Museum exposes the hidden orders of the museum, and the artists’ works construct a transition zone that connects the museum today to its future.

The Director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea expressed that he wishes to “examine the new expandability of young Korean artists as it embarks on its new journey of another 40 years” and hopes for this exhibition “to become a site through which to observe the museum’s past, present and future as proposed by MMCA.”