MMCA features craftworks at open storage
Kitschy, colorful neon signs greet visitors at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cheongju, the fourth branch of the contemporary art museum in Cheongju, some 110 kilometers south of Seoul.
The motel sign and images of dragons, tigers and a peacock seem oddly familiar as they are borrowed from actual landmarks such as the Holiday Motel in Las Vegas, the Peacock Loop Diner in St. Louis and the Golden Dragon Casino in Macao.
This artwork is Cody Choi’s “Venetian Rhapsody: The Power of Bluff.” It was originally installed outside the Korean Pavilion during the 2017 Venice Biennale when Choi represented the country with Lee Wan.
The artist thought of Venice as the center of power and money of the art world, dominated by cultural capitalism. So he appropriated symbolic images from Las Vegas and Macao, two cities known for gambling, to reflect Venice’s commercial side.
“After the Venice display, this neon piece was installed at the ARKO Art Center, but it was altered for indoor installation. The MMCA purchased the artwork last year and the Cheongju installation best represents the artist’s intention in size,” the museum said.
Craftworks from the collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art are on view at its open storage in its Cheongju branch. Courtesy of MMCA
The old tobacco factory-turned-art museum opened last December and the branch specializes in storage and conservation. It has two open storage rooms and three visible storage rooms, which discloses its collections to visitors.
Along with the 2019 Cheongju Craft Biennale, which runs from Oct. 8-Nov. 17, the museum unveils its craftwork collection that has been accumulated over five decades.
The new artifacts on view are displayed in museum storage style, not typical white cube gallery style.
“We brought some 300 craftworks from Gwacheon branch. The works are displayed by material such as ceramic, glass, wood, metal and fabric, along with their registration numbers,” a curator of the museum explained.
Choi Su-jin’s “Color Cigarettes” is on display at “The Adventures of Korean Painting: I Will Go Away All by Myself” exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cheongju. Courtesy of MMCA
At the Special Exhibition Gallery on fifth floor, an exhibit on contemporary paintings are underway through March 29, 2020.
Titled “The Adventures of Korean Painting: I Will Go Away All by Myself,” it sheds light on woes and concerns of modern-day painters who stick to the traditional form of visual art in an era when contemporary art diversifies.
The title is borrowed from Japanese writer Chisako Wakatake’s novel of the same name.
“At first, I was thinking of an exhibition centering on 21st century Korean contemporary paintings, but it has been some 20 years since the 21st century started. There already have been generational changes since the beginning of the 21st century and I decided to focus on artists of now, who are striving to develop their own world,” Lee said.
The exhibit begins with Park Kyung-jin’s installation, which reminds of a dreary building, is in fact a scene from his side job – working in the art department for film productions.
Park’s earlier works were about violent events and their victims such as the Sept. 11 attacks or the Sewol Ferry disaster. However, he suffered from emotional distress from dealing with such incidents and shifted his focus to everyday life, which was a movie set in his case.
Jang Jong-wan’s iconic paintings on leather look peaceful and kitschy, but the gap between the contents and the animal hide exudes creepiness.
Lee Ho-in’s nightscapes of the city are captured in simple and contemplative lines and colors, as if seen from a perspective of nature.
Ahn Ji-san works in a unique way of installing objects in a three-dimensional space and then painting the scene.
“It could be called either landscape-still life or still life-landscape,” curator Lee explained.
Yang Yoo-yun’s paintings catches the fear and uneasiness prevalent in daily life, while Li Set-byul’s green examines how civilization disrupts the peaceful, relaxing image of nature.
Kwon Soon-young depicts familiar female characters from popular animations, who are weak, passive and often exposed to violence, but they are brutal in Kwon’s whimsical paintings.
Characters in Choi Su-jin’s paintings are avatars of the artist, making colors.
“The most interesting aspect of contemporary art is that the artist is still alive. They have unlimited possibilities and we don’t know to what direction they will head to,” Lee said.