Exhibition Information

Choi Soo-jin, A person who weaves horizontality
2016 Oil on canvas 90x90.9cm

Kwon Soon-young, LOVE 5
2017 Acrylic and color on Korean paper 50x50cm

Seo Go-woon, Sasangdo
2018 Oil on canvas 66.9x267.6cm

Ahn Doo-jin, Divided stone
2016 Oil and Acrylic on canvas 181.8x227.3cm

			Temporary closure due to facility inspection (to be reopened on 18 February 2020)

《The Adventures of Modern Painting: I go by myself.》

Modern art, which has been trained through the turbulent 20th century, where fierce changes and experimental passion were boiling, still reveals its presence in the 21st century, when artificial intelligence challenges the realm of painting. As the boundaries between genres of modern art are torn down, the exterior of modern art is constantly changing and receiving the attention of the public, including hybrid art that takes advantage of each genre and mixes freely, high-resolution video media, huge and colorful installation art, sound and lighting, a large-scale performance combining video and choreography created by a factory-style production system that maximizes large capital and efficiency.

The exhibition began in this era when the concept of modern art in the rapidly changing world was stretched to infinity, asking whether the act of embodying (describing) the author’s ideas and concepts using a variety of paints, such as oil painting, acrylic, and watercolors, on top of the most conservative and traditional media, such as canvas and paper, was still meaningful.

The "crisis discourse" or "eschatology" of painting has been a constant issue in the history of modern art. The first time that the existence of paintings was seriously threatened was in the late 19th century when cameras appeared. The "camera" that captures the world with much greater accuracy than the hand of an artist who reproduces the image of the world was like a monster. However, intelligent artists have expanded their scope to the unknown world of "surrealism" "abstraction" and "idea" where no photographs can be captured, and proudly led the history of art in the 20th century as the mainstream of modern art.

From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, "talking" was also prevalent in the Korean art world. At that time, the Korean art world was strongly influenced by the emergence of an experimental alternative space, and the trend of video media and installation art. This situation is once again met with a dramatic twist, with dramatic and decorative paintings in the spotlight during the booming period of Korean art, which was unprecedented in the mid-2000s. Since then, a long tunnel of recession has continued since the short end of the boom.

The exhibition has built up its own "talking" world with unceasing efforts in the intense art world, and offers a glimpse into the works of painting artists in their 30s and 40s, who have potential for other changes and growth. Based on the deep reasons and experiences of the daily life and reality that they face, they express their own perspectives on humans and the world in their own ways. The 17 artists who participated in the exhibition are presenting unique works in various spaces including the space inside and outside the museum’s planning exhibition room, lobby, and glass walls in the open water storage area.

The "The scenery of the world" experienced by artists of the time and expressed intensely will constantly change and expand. Artists move on silently, setting their own direction without being swayed by the standards and assessments of the world. ‘I go alone’ symbolizes the fate of the artists facing the world alone. ‘I Go On My Own’ is a title borrowed from Chisako Watake."I go by myself" (Wakatake Chisako I, Jung Soo-yoon Station, Tomato Publishing House, 2018.8).

The art that you seek must be an uncharted area that no one has reached. It is a lonely, desolate, narrow thorny path that neither family nor friends can join. But the artist chooses the path without hesitation. So art is a great thing.