Installation view of 《Young Korean Artists
2025: Here and Now》 ©MMCAThe National Museum of Modern and
Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) presents 《Young Korean
Artists 2025: Here and Now》 until October 12 at its
Gwacheon branch. This exhibition is the 22nd edition of 《Young Korean Artists》, a regular program by
the MMCA and the longest-running initiative in Korea supporting emerging
artists. It presents an overview of the practices and landscape of contemporary
emerging artists in Korea.
The participating artists recreate the
senses and concerns of their time, both as individuals and as members of a
contemporary generation, as they unfold a range of narratives that begin from
“I” and expand toward “we.”
The artists reflect on the underside of the
digital technology era and propose new ways of relating to various non-human
entities that coexist with humanity. They also embrace others in their
multiplicity of identities and bring their artistic practices into the life of
“here and now,” in the hope of fostering a means of reflecting on and enacting
care and hospitality within our society as a whole.
Installation view of 《Young Korean Artists
2025: Here and Now》 ©MMCAThe artists participating in this
exhibition engage in formative experiments across a variety of media, including
painting and sculpture, as well as video, sound, games, and performance. They
also collaborate with fellow artists in the contemporary art scene or form
fluid collectives to pursue a shared creative process and present the results
of their work.
The exhibition is organized thematically,
allowing each artist’s work to stand individually while also forming an organic
whole. Spanning Gallery 1 and 2 as well as the Main Hall at MMCA Gwacheon, the
exhibition unfolds across five sections that illuminate the artists’ ideas and
practices in a multi-dimensional way.
Installation view of 《Young Korean Artists
2025: Here and Now》 ©MMCAGallery 1 includes two sections, “BEYOND
TECHNOLOGY” and “BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS,” featuring works that reinterpret and
reflect on our ecological and technological environments surrounding us, from
digital and internet-based landscapes to non-human entities such as plants and
animals.
Gallery 2 comprises the sections “TO THE
OTHER AS AN OTHER” and “BEING TOGETHER,” showcasing works that explore
solidarity, care, communication, and sustained artistic practice. Addressing
issues related to Asia, women, minorities, and younger generations, these works
seek possibilities for coexistence with diverse others, moving beyond fixed or
categorical perspectives.
The Main Hall features a work by eobchae
and a section titled “YOUNG OR SEEKING,” including an archive dedicated to the
participating artists.
《Young Korean Artists 2025》 affirms that art can act as both a sensory language and a form of
social practice in response to the world, and that at its core lie the
aesthetic insights and conceptual reflections of a new generation.
Participating Artists: Kang Nayoung, Gwon Donghyun × Kwon Seajung, Kim Uljiro, Kim Jinhee,
dianalab, Mooni Perry, SANGHEE, Song Yehwan, Yagwang, eobchae, Lee Eunhee,
Chang Hanna, Jeong Juwon, Cho Hanna, Jo Hanna
