Venice Biennale invites three rising Korean artists

Three emerging Korean artists have been invited to the upcoming main exhibition at the Venice Biennale in May, Arts Council Korea said Monday.

The state arts agency said three artists ― Kim Ayoung, Nam Hwa-yeon and Im Heung-soon ― have been selected to showcase their works at the international exhibition where 136 artists from 53 countries will be presenting their art. The three Koreans are among the 88 who will be introduced to the global audience in Venice for the first time. 

The 56th International Art Exhibition will be curated by this year’s biennale director Nigerian curator Okwui Enwezor under the title “All the World’s Future.”

Arts Council, an affiliate of Korea’s Culture Ministry, noted that it will be the first time in six years that a Korean artist will be featured in the world’s biggest celebration of contemporary art since 2009. Starting with the world-renowned installation artist Suh Do-ho in 2001, four artists were featured at the Venice Biennale in 2003 and two more in 2009.

Kim, 36, uses video and sound installations to explore different perspectives of historical facts. Her works have been showcased at major museums and institutions around the world, including Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Germany, London Royal Academy of Art and Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art.

Based in Berlin and Seoul, Nam, 36, is an award-winning artist whose works were featured in the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in 2012 and Hite Collection exhibition in 2013 in Seoul. She won the Hermes Foundation Missulsang Award in 2009.

Im, 46, is a filmmaker and media artist whose works have been showcased at Sharjah Biennale 2015, which runs from March 5 to June 5 in the United Arab Emirates. He was named the Artist of Tomorrow by Sungkok Museum and won the Best Rough Cut Award at Incheon Documentary Report in 2014.

At a national level, the duo artist Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho will present new works at the Korean Pavilion during the biennale period. Korea is one of 89 countries with permanent exhibition space inside the biennale venue. This year’s Venice Biennale is scheduled to be held from May 9-Nov. 22.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)