Two contemporary Korean art exhibitions have come to London in quick succession. The first, entitled The 38th Parallel, which opened on 26 November, brings together the work of 11 Korean contemporary artists based in London and trained in British art colleges and, in some cases, in Korean colleges previously.
According to curator Jeehyun Kim, the work of these artists -- Eemyun Kang, Luca Sangjun Kim, Youngmi Kim, Changwoo Ryu, Changhwan Park, Hyungjin Park, Gunwoo Shin, Sangyoon Yoon, Yeon Lee, Yunkyung Jeong and Jungouk Hong -- reflects an understanding of both East Asian and western cultures. Paintings and sculptures are included in the show.
A more ambitious show, and one funded by the British Council and Korea, opens on 9 December at the Korea Cultural Centre galleries. Jointly curated by gallery art director Stephanie Seungmin Kim and Emily Butler, Entry Forms: UK Korean Artists, features the work of Jeong Mun Hur, Heena Kim (see picture above), Yun-Kyung Kim, Minho Kwon, Bommsoon Lee, Younjeong Lee, Soonnam Lim, Jun-Gu Noh, Jee Oh, Jihye Park, So Young Park, Changwoo Ryu, Gee Song, and Hyemin Son. Remarkably, the two events manage to show off the work of almost entirely different artists. Which begs the question: are there more Korean artists out there in the UK who have escaped the net? Most certainly.
According to the organisers of the 'official' show,Entry Forms: UK Korean Artists "attempts to capture a sense of the diversity of works produced by Korean artists living in the UK. It presents work by fourteen different artists selected by the British Council and the Korean Cultural Centre through an open call to artists.
"All have responded to their new environment in different forms; whether it is by scribing their experiences or performing to us on a screen, a common interpretation of place carries through the show. Each artist brings a unique and individual interpretation to what it means to live here today; and as a result helps those of us who live here to re-examine our own experiences." An added dimension, of course, is that curatorial choices in the Korean Cultural Centre exhibition will likely show not only what the Korean artists see in their British surroundings, but also what the British co-curator sees in their work. -- SR
Venues (The 38th Parallel): G-Spot Showroom, 25 Lower Addison Gardens, London W14 8BG. T +44 (0) 7850 103051(Entry Forms: UK Korean Artists),Korean Cultural Centre UK, Ground Floor, Grand Buildings, 1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5BW. T +44 (0) 207 004 2600.
