Non-profit art spaces in Korean contemporary art began to emerge in the late 1990s. Spaces such as Alternative Space Loop (1999– ), Project Space Sarubia (1999- ), Art Space Pool (1999–Jan 2021), and Insa Art Space (2000–Jun 2025) functioned as platforms for experimental practices and emerging artists that were not accommodated within institutional art, forming a structure that explored new possibilities for artistic production both outside and within institutional frameworks.
2026.03.31The Damien Hirst exhibition held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art carries a meaning that goes beyond that of a typical exhibition of a famous overseas artist. It is an event that introduces a single artist, but at the same time it serves as an occasion to reconsider how the system of contemporary art operates today and what role a national museum should play within that structure
2026.03.17The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), in partnership with the SBS Foundation, has announced the shortlisted artists for the “Korea Artist Prize 2026”
2026.02.24The year 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of Nam June Paik (1932–2006). Long before the emergence of the World Wide Web, Paik envisioned a globally networked society. In 1974, he began conceptualizing Electronic Superhighway, anticipating the cultural and social transformations that digital networks would bring. As early as 1964, he introduced Robot K-456, bringing the relationship between humans and machines into the realm of artistic experimentation.
2026.01.27President Lee Jae-myung recently emphasized that “in the international society of the 21st century, culture is at the core of national prestige and national power,” adding that “even an additional supplementary budget should be arranged if necessary to restore and strengthen the foundations of culture and the arts.”
2026.01.20In recent years, Korean contemporary art has no longer remained on the periphery of the global art world. Korean artists are continuously invited to major biennials and international museums, and in terms of both form and subject matter, Korean contemporary art has increasingly demonstrated the ability to respond to global artistic standards.
2026.01.06The discussion thus far converges on a single question. Where does the future of Korean contemporary art begin? Can that future be explained solely through more exhibitions, faster international expansion, larger market scales, and increasingly elaborate discursive rhetoric?
2026.03.24When discussing the conditions of the post-contemporary, the first thing to guard against is the misunderstanding that it refers to a new style or a fashionable label. As discussed in the previous essays, the issue at stake is not the declaration of a new
2026.03.10The current crisis of contemporary art cannot be explained by stagnation in production or exhaustion of imagination. Countless exhibitions and projects continue to be organized, and new formal strategies and critical concerns consistently emerge.
2026.02.24Contemporary art is frequently discussed today through the language of crisis. This crisis is often framed as a loss of meaning: the claim that contemporary art has nothing new to say, that critique has become repetitive
2026.02.10The term “The Conditions of the Post-Contemporary” is not intended to declare the arrival of a new era. Rather, it functions as an analytical concept designed to bring the operative principles that contemporary art has established for itself back into the realm of critical reflection.
2026.01.27This text is not written to introduce or defend Korean contemporary art. Nor is it intended to declare a new movement or to predict future artistic forms. The point of departure for this series is a more fundamental question: Under what conditions has contemporary art operated, and are those conditions still valid today?
2026.01.13