Park Chan-Kyong selected for MMCA’s Hyundai Motor Series 2019

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has selected Park Chan-Kyong as its sixth artist for the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series, the museum announced Wednesday.

A special exhibition of Park’s works will take place from Oct. 26 this year to Feb. 23 next year at the MMCA’s Seoul branch, introducing new video works that are two years in the making.

Park is a media artist, film director and art critic who has focused on delving into Korea’s sociopolitical history. In his works he has often dealt with elements of Korean traditions, which the artist regards as being forgotten in the nation’s rapid economic development. Park’s “Night Fishing” (2011), a 33-minute short film that features local shaman rituals, is one of his works that try to reclaim Korean identity.

“Night Fishing,” co-directed with acclaimed film director Park Chan-wook, his brother, won the artist the Golden Bear for best short film at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011. In 2004, the artist received the Hermes Foundation Missulsang.

Park was among artists and filmmakers blacklisted by the government of ousted former President Park Geun-hye for being unsupportive of its political agenda.

The MMCA Hyundai Motor Series is the museum’s annual project started in 2014. The project sponsored by Hyundai Motor assists and promotes selected artists by providing them with opportunities to construct their own unique art platform and create large-scale works.

Previous participants include internationally acclaimed artists such as Lee Bul, Ahn Kyu-chul, Kim Soo-ja, Im Heung-soon and Choi Jeong-hwa.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)