A work by Korean artist Minjeong An (b. 1981), Self-Portrait_Rachaph (2024), has been newly acquired for the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Minjeong An is the youngest Korean artist ever to be included in MoMA’s permanent collection.
 
This work explores the physical and emotional changes experienced after childbirth through the artist’s diagrammatic visual language. It was first presented in P21’s 2024 exhibition 《Exoskeleton》, and later featured in MoMA’s collection exhibition 《Body Constructs》, which led to its acquisition into the museum’s permanent collection. The work is now on view in MoMA’s permanent exhibition galleries in New York.

Minjeong An retrieves seemingly trivial personal memories and reframes them through her unique visual language modeled after anatomical diagrams. By translating small but meaningful experiences into objective data-like imagery, she maps the external forces that have acted upon her body and life. The scientific tone of her drawings imitates empirical research, capturing the effects of environment and experience as detailed diagrams.

An received her BFA and MFA from Seoul National University of Science and Technology. She has held solo exhibitions at Staniar Gallery, Washington and Lee University, Lexington (2025); The Gallery D., Hongcheon (2018); Opsis Art Gallery, Seoul (2015); and the War Memorial of Korea, Seoul (2013). Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions and biennales, including the 13th Seoul Mediacity Biennale, Seoul (2025); The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2025); P21, Seoul (2024); and the 14th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai (2023).

References

• P21 인스타그램 (P21 Instagram)
• P21, 안민정 (P21, Minjeong An)