Marking its fourth edition, the Daejeon Art and Science Biennale opened on October 25 under the title “Magnum Opus” As the only biennale in Korea dedicated to the theme of science and art, it will run until February 2 of next year at the Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon Creative Center, from the corner (Jeong-dong, Dong-gu), and GONGGAN55 (Seonhwa-dong, Jung-gu).

This year’s exhibition serves as a spin-off, reflecting on previous initiatives such as “Daejeon FAST,” “Project Daejeon,” and the “Art and Science Biennale.” Featuring over 80 works by 23 artists from seven countries, it highlights the creative potential of the intersection between science and art.

The spin-off exhibition examines the ongoing theme of the biennale, which seeks to establish a shared ground where science, art, humanity, and technology converge. It aims to evaluate whether this vision has transcended theoretical proposals to manifest as practical initiatives.

The main exhibition consists of four sections. The first section begins with the idea that alchemy, which was interested in the combination of different elements and the phenomena arising at their boundaries, laid the foundation for modern science.

By setting science art as the “alchemy of today,” this section seeks to find intersections between science and art through a return to the origins, sensing the materiality of nature and recognizing human nature. Featured artists in this section include Michael Joo, Woo Min jung, Seo Jaewoong, and Bill Viola.

The second section revisits the boundaries between science and art through the museum’s new media collection. Viewers can explore major works from Daejeon Museum of Art’s new media collection, including those by Nam June Paik, Kira Kim, Yongbaek Lee, Sejin Kim, and Laurent Grasso.

The third section reflects on the propositions made by key artists who have collaborated on science art projects with the museum over the past two decades. This section includes works by Agnes Meyer Brandis, Jaeeun Shin, Marta de Menezes, Mioon, Leehaiminsun, Choe U-Ram, Jonas Lund, Bae Sung Ho, Agi Haines, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, and Byeongchan Lee.

Notably, Choe U-Ram presents a new large-scale piece visualizing the precariousness of human values. It also unveiled a collaboration with Dr. Sanggyu Kim's team from the KAIST Department of Life Sciences and Agnes Meyer, shown in Korea for the first time.

The fourth section contemplates the current crisis driven by human desires and humbly embraces the hope for coexistence through love, respect, and solidarity. This section includes works by BARE, Bjørn Melhus, Jonas Lund, Katharine Dowson, and Theresa Reimann-Dubbers. Theresa Reimann-Dubbers’ new work, returning after four years, is highly anticipated.

Additionally, at the Daejeon Creative Center, visitors can view works by Lee Jaeseok, Suyeon Kim, Byeongchan Lee, and Hains&Hinterding; at from the corner, works by Shinseungback & Kimyonghun, Jihye Jung, Seongryong Kang, and Oh Wanseok are on display; and at GONGGAN55, works by Jonas Lund are featured.

References

• 대전시립미술관, 대전과학예술비엔날레 (Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon Art and Science Biennale)
• 대전광역시 보도자료 (Daejeon Metropolitan City Press Release)

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.