Chung Hyun
graduated from Hongik University with a BFA and MFA in sculpture and furthered
his studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in
1986. He is currently based in Seoul and works as an exclusive artist
represented by PKM Gallery.
The Korea Art Critics Association established
the 1st Korea Art Critics Association Award in 2009 to promote the
development and advancement of contemporary Korean art.
The awards are divided into two
categories: ‘Creation’ and ‘Criticism’. The first Grand Prize
for the Creation category was awarded to sculptor Chung Hyun, while the Grand
Prize for the Criticism category was awarded to art critic Lee Sun-young.
The Korea Art Critics Association Award is presented
to artists in their 40s and 50s who have demonstrated outstanding creative
activity and developed a profound artistic vision, as well as to distinguished
art critics who have engaged in vigorous critical practice.
The selection committee cited as reasons for their
decision Chung Hyun’s successful sculptural reconfiguration of industrial waste
materials, and Lee Sun-young’s distinctive and meticulous writing, which has
incisively examined the inner dimensions of contemporary Korean art.
The award ceremony will be held on the 27th at 4:00
PM at the audiovisual hall of the Deoksugung branch of the National Museum of
Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. Each awardee will receive a cash prize
of 5 million KRW.
The jury panel for this award consisted of Oh
Kwang-soo (Chairman of the Arts Council Korea), Yoon Nan-ji (Professor, Ewha
Womans University), Yoon Jin-seop (Professor, Honam University), Kim Young-ho
(Professor, Chung-Ang University), Kim Dal-jin (Director, Kim Dal-jin Art
Research Institute), and Seo Sung-rok (President, Korea Art Critics
Association).
