Access to Contemporary Korean Art 1980-2010

Kim Jiha (or Kim Chi-ha) is a poet and philosopher in aesthetics. After studying aesthetics at Seoul National University, Kim made his literary debut in 1969 with five poems including "Yellow Earth Road," published in the literary magazine Poet. His poetry collections include Blooming (Silcheon munhaksa, 2002), which was translated into French and published with Bang Hai Ja's illustrations in 2006 as ?closion by Voix d'Encre; Heart's Agony Thrist (Changbi, 1982); and The Yellow Earth (Haneol mungo, 1970). Among his other writings are The Road to Life and Peace (Moonji, 2005); The Road to White Shadows Vols. 1, 2, and 3 (Hakgojae, 2003); Boat Songs of the South Land (Dourei, 1985); and Bap (Rice) (Solbook, 1984). He was awarded the Lotus Prize for Literature by the Afro-Asian Authors' Association (1975), the Grand Poet Award at International Poets' Conference (1981), the Bruno Kreisky Prize for Human Rights (1981), the Yisan Literary Award (1993), the Daesan Literary Award (2002), the Manhae Peace Prize (2006), the winner prize of the Yeong-nang Poetry Award (2010), and the Minse Award (2011), among others. Currently, Kim is chair professor at the Graduate School of Konkuk University.

Kim Yun-su is an art critic and aesthetician. Kim graduated from Seoul National University with a masters' in aesthetics before lecturing at his alma mater. He served many positions such as professor at Ewha Womans University and Yeungnam Univeristy, CEO and president and at Changbi Publishers, founding director at Mus?e de Seoul, chairman of the board at Korean People Artist Federation, director at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and a member of the Modern Cultural Heritage Subcommittee at the Cultural Heritage Administrations. Kim published numerous works of art criticism in art journals and other publications including The Quarterly Changbi. The author of The History of Korean Modern Painting (Hankook ilbosa, 1975), Kim's critical writings include "Art and Alienation," "Introspection on Current Climate of the Art WorldㅡThe Attitude of Artists and Critics," and "The Minjung-ness in Goya's Painting," among others. He translated many books into Korean, among which are The Success and Failure of Picasso by John Berger, A Concise History of Modern Painting by Herbert Read, and Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga. In 2001, The Way of People, the Way of Art was publishd by Changbi to celebrate Kim's retirement from Yeungnam University and his life-long practice as an art theorist and educator.

Shim Kwang-hyun is professor of Cinema Studies at Korea National University of Arts. After having completed the doctoral program in aesthetics at Seoul National University, Shim worked as chief curator at Mus?e de Seoul from 1985 to 1993, where he organized numerous exhibitions including Trends and Prospects; Marcel Duchamp; Controversial Artists; and 18 Artists in Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Mus?e de Seoul, while also curating the inaugural exhibition of Seoul Arts Center titled Young VisionsㅡA Proposal for Tomorrow (1990). Shim served as operating director for the Future Theme Park events at Daejeon Exop (1993) and a member of the organizing committee of the 1st Gwangju Biennale (1995). In addition, he took part in designing the master plan for the exhibition structure of Seoul Museum of History (1995) and in planning and installing the permanent exhibition hall in Democracy Park in Busan (1997). From 1992 to 2012, Shim was editorial director of Munhwa/gwahak (Culture/Science), and published many books including Marx and the Politics of the Mind (Munhwagwahaksa, 2014), Knowledge Production and Cultural Politics in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing (Munhwagwahaksa, 2009), Fractal (Hyunsil munhwa yeongu, 2005), and Heung-hanminguk (Hyunsil munhwa yeongu, 2005).

미술대학에서 서양화를 전공했지만 졸업 후에는 주로 미술에 관한 글을 썼고 전시를 기획했다. 1997년 《블랙박스: 냉전 이미지의 기억》(금호미술관)이라는 제목으로 첫 개인전을 열었다. 이 전시부터 한국의 분단과 냉전을 대중매체와의 관계나 정치심리적인 관심 속에서 다뤄왔으며, 주로 사진과 비디오를 만들었다. 〈세트〉(2000), 〈파워통로〉(2004~2007), 〈비행〉(2005), 〈반신반의〉(2018)가 그런 작품들이다. 2008년 〈신도안〉을 발표하면서 한국의 민간신앙과 무속을 통해 한국의 근대성을 해석하는 장단편 영화를 연출하기 시작했다. 이러한 주제는 〈다시 태어나고 싶어요, 안양에〉(2010), 〈만신〉(2013), 〈시민의 숲〉(2016) 등으로 이어졌다. 최근작인 〈늦게 온 보살〉(2019)도 현대의 재난을 불교에서 전하는 에피소드를 통해 다루고 있다. 그는 작가로서 활동하면서 작가론, 미술제도, 민중미술과 (포스트)모더니즘, 전통 등에 관한 에세이를 간간히 써왔다. 『포럼A』와 『볼』의 창간과 편집에 참여하기도 했다. 에르메스 코리아 미술상(2004), 베를린국제영화제 단편영화부문 황금곰상(2011), 전주국제영화제 한국장편경쟁부문 대상(2011) 등을 수상했고, ‘MMCA 현대차 시리즈 2019’ 작가로 선정되었다. 그가 기획한 전시로는 2014년 SeMA 비엔날레 미디어시티서울 《귀신 간첩 할머니》가 있다.

Mo Bahc (Yiso Bahc) (1957-2004) was a conceptual artist, also known for his role in introducing postmodern art theory to the Korean art world. In 1985, Bahc founded alternative space Minor Injury in Brooklyn, New York, which he ran until 1989. After returning to Korea in 1994, he served as professor in Concept Drawing at Samsung Art and Design Institute (1995-1999) and taught Kaywon University of Art and Design and Korea National University of Arts. (2000-2003). His many group exhibitions include the Korean Pavilion at Venice Biennale (2003 and 2005), the 1st Yokohama Triennale (2001), and 2nd Gwangju Biennale (1997), and the 5th Havana Biennial (1994). Bahc received the Herm?s Foundation Missulsang (2002) and two fellowship grants in painting from the National Endowment for the Arts (1989 and 1991). For his posthumous retrospective Divine Comedy, curated by Young Chul Lee and held at Rodin Gallery in 2006, he was posthumously awarded the Arts of the Year Award from Arts Council Korea. Bahc translated into Korean, Mary Anne Staniszewski's book Believing Is Seeing and John Storey's Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, both published by Hyunsil munhwa yeongu.

Park Shin-Eui is professor in the Department of Arts and Cultural Management at the Graduate School of Business Administration and director of the Center for Arts and Cultural Management, both at Kyung Hee University, leading numerous researches and projects on cultural policy and museum management since 2000. Park received her master's and diploma of advanced studies (DEA) in art history from Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris IV) and her doctorate in cultural management from Inha University. After being selected in the annual literary competition organized by Dong-a ilbo daily for her art criticism in 1988, Park practiced widely as an art critic and curator. Park was one of the board members of Arts Council Korea, chair of the Cultural Policy Committee at Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, and the founder and president of the Korean Society of Arts and Cultural Management. She is the author of Arts & Cultural Management: Its Prospect as a Multidisciplinary Study (Eum Story, 2013), Theory and Practice of Arts & Cultural Management (Sanggakui namu, 2002), and Multimedia Artist L?szl? Moholy-Nagy (Design House, 2002), among others.

Lee Youngwook is an art critic and art theorist and currently is professor at the College of Culture Convergence at Jeonju University. Lee graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in aesthetics and completed the doctoral course at the same school. Lee has been an active art critic since the late 1980s, while also serving as director of the Research Society for Art Criticism, director of Alternative Space Pool (now Art Space Pool), publisher of Forum A, and director of the Korean Association for History of Modern Art. His writings span across various subjects, including minjung (people's) art, cultural politics, avant-garde art, post-colonialism, public art, and tradition and its relation to art. Lee also took part in cultural policy-making and public art projects. His translations include One Place after Another: Site-Specific Art and Locational Identity by Miwon Kwon, Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art by Suzanne Lacy, The Return of the Real by Hal Foster, Postcolonial Theory: A Critical introduction by Leela Gandhi, and Five Faces of Modernity by Matei Calinescu. Lee is the author of Art and Truth? (Mijinsa, 1996) and many critical essays, articles, and texts on artists including "Minjung Art of the 1980s and Realism," "Avant-garde/ 'Foreign-garde'/ 'Other-garde,'" "Ethics and Aesthetics of Participatory Art," and "How to Sit Properly: Tradition and Art."

Young Chul Lee is a curator and art critic. Currently Lee is professor in the Arts Academic Discipline at Kaywon University of Art and Design and a visiting scholar at the Oxford University's Ruskin School of Art. Lee received his bachelor's in sociology from Korea University and master's in aesthetics from Seoul National University, in addition to two semesters of the doctoral program in Art History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Lee was previously an editor for the quarterly art journal Gyegan misul (now Wolgan misool), a member of the Research Society for Art Criticism, and chief editor of the publishing company Sigakgwa eoneo. In 1993, he co-curated with Jane Farver the exhibition Across the Pacific: Contemporary Korean and Korean- American Art at the Queens Museum of Art, New York, which traveled to Korea the following year and exhibited at the Kumho Museum of Art. He served as artistic director at the 2nd Gwangju Biennale, titled Unmapping the Earth (1997), chief curator at the 1st edition of Art Factory Project (1999), artistic director at the 1st Busan Biennale (2002), curator at the 2nd Biennale of Ceramics in Contemporary Art, Albisola (2003), artistic director at the 1st Anyang Public Art Project (2005), an international advisor for the 3rd Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial (2005-2006), the first director of Nam June Paik Art Center (2008-2011), head of the Institute of Asian Cultural Development (2011-2013), and artistic director of Asia Culture Center (2013-2015). His other exhibitions include Seoul in Media: Food, Clothing, Shelter (1998), which later led to the founding of the SeMA Biennale Mediacity Seoul; You Are My Sunshine: Contemporary Korean Art, 1960-2004; and Refrain: Korean, Balkan, Okinawa (both at Total Museum of Contemporary Art, 2004). His writings have appeared in a broad spectrum of publications, including notably his essay "Curating in a Global Age" in Cautionary Tales: Critical Curating, edited by Steven Rand and Heather Kouris and published by Apexart in 2007. He is editor of an anthology of post-war art criticism written by European and American critics titled 30 Texts of Contemporary Art Criticism (Joongangilbosa, 1987) and the author of the Visual Art and Culture Politics series consisted of three volumes (Sigakgwa eoneo, 1996-1998) and Situation and Perception (Sigakgwa eoneo, 1993), a collection of his essays.

Jang Un Kim is a curator and art critic. After studying art theory and cultural theory, in 2000, Kim started working as an editor for the monthly journal art (now Art in Culture). Kim has served as curator of Art Space Pool (2001-2002), curator at Anyang Public Art Foundation (2006-2007), Position Papers' curator at the 7th Gwangju Biennale (2008), adjunct professor at Kaywon University of Art and Design, and senior curator, the head of Exhibition Team 2 at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul (2014-2016). His curatorial projects include World of Xijing (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, 2015); Asteroid G, a collaboration with Sora Kim, Choon Choi, and Lee Juna (Geumseong Drain Facility, Gongju, 2013); Fiction Walk: National Museum of Contemporary Art (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, 2012); Yiso Bahc: Lines of Flight (co-curator; Art Sonje Center, Seoul, 2011); The Adventure of Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee (directed by Chung Seoyoung; LIG Art Hall, Seoul, 2010); and The Distribution for the Illegal at Platform 2009 (Kimusa, the site of the former Defense Security Command, Seoul, 2009). In 2009, he formed a normal type, an independent contemporary art lab which continued until 2013. His essays on art are published in the book On the Shores of Politics and Contemporary Art (Hyunsil munhwa yeongu, 2012).

Seo Dong-jin is a professor of Intermedia Art at Kaywon University of Art and Design, whose critical writings are based on a wide interest in visual culture. He was a film programmer at both the Seoul Queer Film Festival and the Jeonju International Film Festival, a board member of the Korean Assoaciation of Cinematheques, and served on the editorial boards of journals or magazines including Cultizen, Review, and Contemporary Criticism. Seo currently holds positions as an editorial board member of Noon, a journal of contemporary art and visual culture published by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, an academic advisor for Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, and a columnist for The Hankyoreh daily. He is the author of The Nap of the Dialectics (Courrier, 2015), The Will to Freedom, the Will to Self-Managing (Dolbegae, 2009), and Design Melancholia (Designflux, 2009), and is the translator of the Korean edition of Jeffery Weeks' book Sexuality (Hyunsil munhwa yeongu, 1994). Seo's recent research interest is the rise of the new materialism in social and art theories and the critical thinking thereof.

Shin Hakchul is a prominent figure in Korean minjung (people's) art of the 1980s. After studying painting at Hongik University, Shin taught art in a high school. He was a member of A.G. (acronym of "Avant-garde") group in the 1960s, incorporating various attempts of experimental art in his work. His photomontages and collages from the 1970s depict everyday life and embody the fetishism abound in the industrial and mass consumption society. From the 1980s, Shin developed a closer approach to reality, using photomontage and photo-realism techniques. His painting, Rice Planting (1987), was confiscated by the state as anti-state expression under the National Security Law and the artist was imprisoned in Seoul Corrections Headquarters for 3 months in 1989, stirring up a dispute about the freedom of artistic expression and censorship. Shin was the recipient of the 1st Art Journalist's Choice Award (1982), the 1st Minjok Art Prize (1991), and the 16th Kumho Art Prize (1999), and from 2010 to 2013, he served as a chairperson of the board of the Korean People Artist Federation. His solo exhibitions include Shin Hak-Chul (Mus?e de Seoul, Seoul, 1982) and The Great Statue We Have Created (Marronnier Art Center, Seoul, 2003), and he participated in numerous two-person and group exhibitions such as Shin Hak-Chul & Fang Lijun: Monumental Body-Scapes (Hakgojae Gallery, Seoul, 2016), Korean RhapsodyㅡMontage of the History and Memory (Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, 2011), and Project 3 Stay of Execution of the 4th Gwangju Biennale (5.18 Liberty Park, Gwangju, 2002).

제주와 서울을 오가며 편집자로 일하고 있다. 토론토에서 실험 미술을 공부했고, 귀국 후 상산환경조형연구소와 가나미술문화연구소에서 일했으며 미술 및 디자인 잡지에서 객원 기자로 활동했다. 2004년 『애드버스터: 상업주의에 갇힌 문화를 전복하라』를 공동 번역했다.

네덜란드 ‘카스코 아트 인스티튜트: 워킹 포 커먼스’의 디렉터, 2016 광주비엔날레: 제8기후대 ‘ 예술을 무엇을 하는가’의 큐레이터, 2022 싱가포르 비엔날레의 공동 예술 감독을 역임했다. 2025 하와이 트리엔날레 큐레이터로 선정됐다. 독일 쾰른 ‘세계예술 아카데미’ (ADKDW)의 멤버이자 프랑스 파리 에이필드(Afield)의 자문 역할을 맡고 있다.

본지 편집위원. 독립 큐레이터이자 연구자로 전시 도면에 관한 박사 논문을 썼다. 다양한 전시를 기획하며 저서로 『1:1 다이어그램: 큐레이터의 도면함』 등이 있다. 전시 공간 시청각랩을 운영한다.

Gim Jonggil is an art critic and curator. His research focuses on defining the actuality of contemporary Korean art within the interdisciplinary knowledge and learning systems found throughout the West and Eurasia. Gim served as curator at Moran Museum of Art and Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, head of Culture and Arts Promotion at Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, chair of the operating committee at SPACE99 of Peace Museum, and a member of the arts curriculum committee at the Knowledge Circulation Cooperation. Exhibitions organized by Gim at Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art include Korean Historical Conceptual Art from the 1970-80s: Jack-of-all-trades (2010); Him (Power) of Gyeonggi-do (2010); New Political Art in Korea since the 1990s; Bad boys Here and Now (2009); Eonni (Sister) Is Back (2008); and Gyeonggi, National Highway No.1 (2007). He is the author of Post-Minjung Art: Shaman/Realism (Samchang, 2013), and co-author of The Politics of the Roof (Galmuri, 2014), 100.art.kr: Korean Contemporary Art Scene (in English; Open Books, 2012), and Korean Historical Conceptual Art from the 1970-80s (Noonbit, 2011), among others. He was the awardee of the Kim Bok-jin Art Theory Award (2011), the Curator of the Year Award presented by the Korean Museum Association (2011), the Lee Dong-seok Curatorial Award (2009), and the Young Critic of the Year Award by the Association of Korean Art Critics (2005). Currently Gim is chief curator of Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation.

전시를 만들고 글을 쓴다. 미학과 미술관학을 공부했으며, 비평의 가능성을 넓히고 형태가 정치적이 되는 방식에 관심을 갖고 있다. 백남준아트센터 큐레이터로 《X 사운드: 존 케이지와 백남준 이후》, 《노스탤지어는 피드백의 제곱》, 《끈질긴 후렴》, 《백남준 온 스테이지》, 《굿모닝 미스터 오웰 2014》 등을 기획했으며, 독립 큐레이터로 《퇴폐미술전》, 《정글의 소금》, 《바다는 가라앉지 않는다》 등의 전시를 기획했다. 아트 스페이스 풀의 디렉터와 잡지 『포럼A』의 편집장을 맡은 바 있다.

Hyunjin Kim is a curator, writer, and researcher based in Seoul. She started her career in 1999 as an assistant curator at Alternative Space Loop, as well as SSamzie Space and Art Sonje Center and then continued to curate shows as a guest or chief curator at institutions including Van Abbemuseum, Insa Art Space, Gallery 27 of Kaywon University of Art and Deisgn, and Ilmin Museum of Art. She was curatorial assistant of the 9th Istanbul Biennial (2005), co-curator of the 7th Gwangju Biennale (2008), and director of Arko Art Center (2014-2015). Exhibitions organized by Kim include Two or Three Tigers, the House of World Cultures (Haus der Kulturen der Welt/ HKW), Berlin (2017); Nina Canell: Satin Ions, Arko Art Center Seoul (2015); Hwayeon Nam: Time-Mechanics, Arko Art Center, Seoul (2015); Tradition (Un)Realized, Arko Art Center, Seoul (2014); Chung Seoyoung: The Speed of the Large, the Small, and the Wide, Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul (2013); Brilliant Collaborators, Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul (2013); and Perspective Strikes Back, Doosan Gallery, Seoul (2009-2010) and L'appartement22, Rabat (2010). Her writing has been published in many art magazines and journals such as Wolgan misool, Art in Culture, Yishu, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, among others. Kim is currently an advisory member of HKW, Berlin and Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong.

문학, 미술사, 미술관학 기반의 시각예술 큐레이터. 2000년대 초부터 인사미술공간과 아르코미술관의 국제 교류 및 담론 프로젝트 큐레이터, 비영리 전문예술사단법인 아트 스페이스 풀의 대표, 글로벌 기획 네트워크인 뮤지엄 애즈 허브의 기획 파트너, 국립아시아문화전당 문화창조원의 전시조감독을 역임했다. 현재 서울시립미술관 신규 분관들을 기획하는 플래너로 있다. 주요 기획 프로젝트로 백남준기념관 건립 및 개관전 《내일, 세상은 아름다울 것이다》(2017), 《416 참사 기억 프로젝트: 밝은 빛》(2015), 《경계 위를 달리는: 문화교섭과 사유의 모험을 위하여》(2013), 《슈퍼포지션―아트, 사랑, 돈, 거처, 예술에 대한 카운터 페스티벌》(2012), 《긍지의 날 6부작》(2010), 《Unconquered: Critical Visions from South Korea》(2009), 《동두천: 기억을 위한 보행, 상상을 위한 보행》(2007), 비평집 『Access to Contemporary Korean Art 1980-2010』(2017), 『연속과 강도: 2008-2010 58인의 참여와 한국현대미술』(2010) 등이 있다.