Yeesookyung, Flame Variation 2023-2, 2023 ©Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation
The
Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art is hosting a special exhibition, “Worlds Beyond
Extraordinary”, featuring Korean folk paintings (Minhwa) and K-pop art, running
until February 23 next year. This exhibition was designed to explore the
potential of Korean pop art rooted in the tradition of Minhwa.
The
exhibition includes 27 traditional Minhwa works by anonymous artists, along
with 102 works by 19 contemporary artists: Yongju Kwon, Sangdon Kim, Kim Eun
Jin, Gemini Kim, Kim Jipyeong, Shawn Park, grimpark, Jungki Beak, Son Ki Hwan, Donghyun
Son, Oh JeiSung, Yeesookyung, Yanghee Lee, Eunsil Lee, Yi In Sun, Youngzoo IM, Cho
Hyun-Taek, MinSeok Chi, and Choe Sooryeon.
Oh JeiSung, INDEX#3_多寶閣景圖, 2020-2024 ©Gyeonggi Cultural FoundationThis exhibition showcases works imbued with
artistic aspirations and humor at the intersection of Minhwa and pop art,
inviting viewers to reflect on life through three distinct worldviews:
Dreamland, representing the yearning for a better present world; Life as It Is,
capturing a humorous attitude toward existence; and The Back View, exploring
imaginations of the afterlife.
The exhibition examines how such
reflections on life and the world emerge in contemporary Korean art within the
current artistic milieu, while delving into the connections between Minhwa and
pop art to explore the diverse possibilities of K-pop art.
Cho Hyun-Taek, Stone Market_Yeoju, 2021 ©Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation
Through the lens of everyday life, the
relationship between Minhwa and pop art expands to encompass a broader vision
of K-pop art, offering vivid landscapes of worlds we have yet to discover,
aspire to emulate, or imagine as entirely other.
An archive section complements the
exhibition, providing deeper insight. Visitors can explore a variety of Minhwa
anthologies, pop art materials, and research on K-culture, allowing them to
reflect on the exhibition’s central questions.
Ji Yeon Lee has been working as an editor for the media art and culture channel AliceOn since 2021 and worked as an exhibition coordinator at samuso (now Space for Contemporary Art) from 2021 to 2023.
