Kim Yong-Ik, an artist who has maintained a distinct stance amid the dominant artistic movements in Korea, is the subject of the solo exhibition To the Last Generation, Kim Yong-Ik at Art Archives, Seoul Museum of Art. Spanning Kim’s artistic journey from the 1970s through his recent works that convey messages about civilization and the environment, the exhibition closely examines the artist's vast body of work, including modernist, conceptual, and public art.

The exhibition unfolds in tandem with Kim’s changing aesthetic perspective over the years. His artistic journey has undergone a transformative shift over the years, evolving from the early explorations of visual perception, conceptualism, and modernist theories to later works examining the ontological aspects of art, humanity, and civilization. Navigating through the showcase of 38 major works and more than 300 archival materials, visitors can examine how Kim’s underlying philosophies have developed over time.

The exhibition includes a recreation of Untitled (Dedicated to the 1st Young Artists Exhibition in 1981) (1981), which declared the conclusion of his early groundbreaking series Plane Object (1977) by presenting the work wrapped in packing materials and enclosed inside a box. Also on view is Triptych (1970–2022), which encapsulates five decades of Kim’s practice in three sections housed within a single wooden case, drawing inspiration from the European religious tradition. Presented on one wall is documentation of Cauterization in the Desert Gobi, a performance piece in which the artist stuck a long fishing pole into the Gobi Desert, symbolizing a form of moxibustion in the hope of cleansing the planet from all forms of waste.

Running as a common thread throughout the exhibition are the artist's questions aimed at his contemporaries: “What kind of art should we create?” and “What kind of people should we be?” To Kim, this self-criticism is a means of ongoing critical practice targeting art as a dominant power structure as well as other systems and institutions across society. Kim humbly recognizes the limitations of art and the contradictions within himself, suggesting the possibility of alternative attitudes and perceptions through art. To the Last Generation, Kim Yong-Ik continues until November 19.

Roni Horn, a renowned American contemporary artist, is the subject of the solo exhibition I AM PARALYZED WITH HOPE at Centro Botín, Spain. Set in a space that overlooks the beautiful scenery of Santander, the exhibition showcases a selection of the artist’s major works that reflect her ongoing exploration of human perception and experience amidst the changing natural environment.

Working across a variety of media, including photography, installation, sculpture, and drawing, Horn has been focusing on the interplay between space, light, water, and her works. The pieces presented in the exhibition are also closely related to these themes. Untitled (The tiniest piece of mirror is always the whole mirror) (2022), a cast glass sculpture that resembles a tranquil aquarium filled with water, reflects its surroundings and, in doing so, illustrates the intriguing materiality of glass that appears to exist in a state of neither solid nor liquid. The photolithographic work Still Water (The River Thames, for Example) (1999) offers glimpses of London’s River Thames along with the artist’s annotations of anecdotes, personal thoughts, police reports, and suicide witness statements, evoking the link that exists across bodies of water and the continuity of life and death. In addition, the sound installation Saying Water (2001), a 40-minute monologue based on Horn’s own musings and associations with water, resonates throughout the exhibition space that features panoramic views of the bay of Santander, providing an immersive experience for the viewers.

The exhibition also marks the institutional debut of LOG (March 22, 2019-May 17, 2020) (2019-2020), consisting of 406 sheets of drawings. Serving as a record of everyday observations and events that have influenced the artist’s sensibility, the series comprises drawings, quotations, collages, photographs, daily records, and notes on news and weather. Some of the pieces within the series include the phrase “I am paralyzed with hope,” which is the title of the exhibition. Borrowing the phrase from a comedian she found on YouTube, the artist explores the hidden meaning of the word “hope,” which is at times paradoxically used as a euphemism for hopelessness.

Horn’s exhibition, which closely questions the continuity and duality of water and light, object and nature, life and death, remains on view through September 1, 2023. 

Haegue Yang is currently participating in the 20th anniversary group exhibition, World Classroom: Contemporary Art through School Subjects, at Mori Art Museum, Tokyo. The exhibition aims to spotlight the wide-ranging connections that contemporary art shares with a variety of disciplines and features approximately 150 works by 54 contemporary artists and collectives who attempt to explore the unknowns of the world and thus rediscover history from across the world.

In the exhibition, Yang presents a newly commissioned work, The Sonic Hybrids – Dual Energy (2023), a two-part sculptural ensemble. Among the two, The Sonic Hybrid – Migrating after Ohtake (2023) expresses dynamic energy by reconstructing the large abstract sculptures by Tomie Ohtake (1913-2015), a Kyoto native who moved to Brazil. The sculpture's body is composed of purple bells, symbolizing femininity, justice, and dignity, combined with green bells reminiscent of nature and hope, along with an arrangement of artificial flowers from Asia and South America placed on top.

Meanwhile, The Sonic Hybrid – Cooling Overturning (2023), which suggests an image of an inverted nuclear power plant cooling tower, is entirely covered with uncolored stainless-steel bells. Positioned on its upper part are solar cells and small cooling fans, which resemble the eyes of a character, thereby addressing contemporary topical issues related to energy generation and usage. Prior to the opening of the exhibition, the Mori Art Museum decided to acquire The Sonic Hybrids – Dual Energy for its permanent collection.

The exhibition also introduces three works from Yang’s Sonic Hemisphere series (2023), which are regularly activated by the museum staff to produce a gentle resonance throughout the gallery space, and a wallpaper collage titled The Fantastic Warp and Weft of a Tropical Depression (2020/2023), which adorns the surrounding walls. The wallpaper work, demonstrating the artist’s longstanding interest in natural phenomena, is composed of 3D images from the internet’s open source and geometric shapes of binakol, a traditional woven fiber from the Philippines.

World Classroom: Contemporary Art through School Subjects remains on view through September 24.

The Swiss contemporary artist Ugo Rondinone is the subject of the solo exhibition sunrise. east. at Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany. On view from June 28, 2023, the exhibition features large-scale silver aluminum sculptural heads with simple facial features, displayed across the Städel garden located within the museum. 
 
Embracing the spirit of “art for all,” Rondinone has exhibited his works in various public spaces worldwide since the 1990s. Keeping in line with his artistic philosophy, the exhibition aims to engage a diverse audience, regardless of each viewer's familiarity with art. The sculptures exude a friendly and humorous aura, characterized by their small eyes and wide-open mouths. They evoke a wide range of associations, such as totems in archaic cultures, ritual masks, ghosts, and the visual language of comics and emoticons, delving into the inner world of human emotions.
 
Each of the twelve-part series of sculptures is named after a specific month of the year, ranging from sunrise. east. january to sunrise. east. december. These works draw inspiration from the artist's personal experiences and contemplation of both individual and universal aspects of time. Arranged in a circular formation with the heads facing one another, the sculptures symbolize the cyclical passage of time. Together, these sculptures transform the garden into a unique landscape, with their silvery hue simulating the morning dew and enlivened by the light. sunrise. east. runs through Nov 5.

Works by Koo Bohnchang are currently on view at Return of Cheonma at the Gyeongju National Museum. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Cheonmachong Tomb, the exhibition showcases a collection of artifacts from the Silla Dynasty, including Cheonmado (Painting of the Heavenly Horse), which was excavated in 1973 and is displayed to the public for the first time in nine years. 11 photographs by Koo are prominently presented at the beginning of the show under the section titled “Seeing with a New Perspective.”

Koo’s large-scale photographs in the exhibition depict gold crowns, accessories, and glass cups from the Silla Dynasty, all of which were unearthed from the Cheonmachong Tomb. Renowned for his work that reinterprets the inherent traces of time and the pure beauty of white porcelains from the Joseon Dynasty within a contemporary context, Koo has recently been focusing on the golden relics scattered across different institutions worldwide. Koo expressed his excitement upon getting the chance to capture the artifacts through his camera lens after a long period of anticipation, remarking: "The gold crown is a familiar symbol of the Silla Dynasty; when we think of Silla, we instantly think of the precious gold crown. Emanating a subtle, delicate glow even in the dark, the gold crown embodied the sun, the center of the world, and was a symbol of absolute power. Unveiled to us as a burial item within the Cheonmachong, this golden artifact, carrying the breath and essence of the Silla royal family, encapsulates human desires, the life of the times, and their aspirations for the afterlife. Witnessing this 1,500-year-old golden relic up close through the lens was a truly remarkable experience, and I wanted to capture its exquisite beauty in photographic form as a visual testament." 

Koo’s captivating works, set against a backdrop of golden hues, will remain on view at the Gyeongju National Museum through July 16, 2023. Additionally, an extensive catalog dedicated to the Silla Gold Crowns will be published in October, offering a comprehensive presentation of Koo’s works that beautifully capture the essence of the Silla artifacts.

The Dansaekhwa pioneer Ha Chong-Hyun and the father of Korean geometric abstraction Lee Seung Jio are participating in the group exhibition Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s, held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Seoul, on view from May 26 to June 16, 2023. Co-organized by the MMCA and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, the exhibition provides a window into the history of Korean experimental art, which not only revolutionized the contemporary Korean art scene through the avant-garde experiments of young Korean artists in the 1960-70s, but also expanded these artists’ practices into the global art world.
While the international society experienced radical shifts in the 1960s and 70s, affected by the 1968 Revolution, the anti-war movement, and the rise of feminism, South Korea faced social turbulence due to rapid modernization and industrialization, enforced by a dictatorship founded upon the tension brought about by the ideological differences between North and South Korea. During this period, young artists who sought the “meaning of art” advocated for a stronger connection between art and society, rising against the conventions of the older generation. Furthermore, these artists transcended existing boundaries of art—such as painting and sculpture—and defined a new genre of “experimental art” incorporating objects, three-dimensional art, performance, events, film, and video that reflected the vigorous sociopolitical climate of the times. 

The exhibition presents six subtopics to introduce the group activities of emerging artists from the late 1960s. In particular, the ‘Statements of Youth and a Historical Transition’ section features Ha Chong-Hyun’s White Paper on Urban Planning (1967), exemplifying the artist’s fascination with the schematic urban structure of Korea, and Lee Seung Jio’s Nucleus No. G99 (1968), visualizing a sense of spatial depth.
The ‘Under the Banner of Avant-garde: AG’ section—which introduces experimental art from the early 1970s—showcases three of Ha Chong-Hyun’s paintings. Work 73-13 (1973) evokes the post-war reality faced by those in Korea, by depicting barbed wire arranged as a grid (fixed with screws), over a layer of burlap covering a piece of plywood lined with foam. 

Meanwhile, the current exhibition at the MMCA will first travel to the Guggenheim Museum in New York (on view from September 1, 2023), then to the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles (on view from February 11, 2024).

The renowned contemporary artist Park Chan-kyong is currently participating in Watch and Chill 3.0: Streaming Suspense at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (hereafter MMCA) Seoul, through July 23, 2023. Organized by the MMCA in collaboration with major art institutions in Oceania and the Americas, the exhibition presents 28 works by contemporary artists, designers, and filmmakers from countries such as Korea, Australia, and Mexico. The exhibited media works aim to provide viewers with an immersive and suspenseful experience, inviting them to confront the collapsing reality of our time and explore new artistic perspectives.
 
Through his film, photography, and installation, Park has extensively explored the themes of the division of Korea, the Cold War, and the concept of modernity. Presented in a section titled "Post-dystopian Worldbuilding" among the five subtopics, Park’s Belated Bosal (2019) is a video work centered around the themes of Buddha's nirvana and the catastrophic radioactive leak in Fukushima. The majority of the images in the video are shot in black-and-white negative, reminiscent of autoradiography, a technique used to visualize radiation exposure. Based on a specific Buddhist narrative, the film reflects Park's ideas on challenging conventional situations, depicting a silent form of hospitality and a time when traditional narratives cease to be effective.
 
Watch and Chill 3.0 is a revamped version of Watch & Chill, a subscription-based streaming platform initially established by the MMCA in collaboration with prominent international institutions. This updated iteration grants global subscribers access to a diverse range of media works and is specifically designed to offer a more immersive and engaging experience. The exhibition can be enjoyed both in person at the museum or online through the streaming platform. By logging in to the online platform and subscribing to the service, viewers can explore newly released media works accompanied by Korean and English subtitles, available on a weekly basis.