The Jeonnam Museum of Art (JMA) announced its goal for this year as it celebrated its third anniversary of opening: to transition from a recently opened local art museum to a global art institution that can connect tradition, present, and future. In 2023, the JMA announced its four long-term goals for its exhibitions and projects, which included inheriting traditional heritage, being a contemporary art museum, reexamining the future of Jeonnam art, and considering sustainable growth.

New Acquisitions, the first exhibition of the year, will be held from January 3 to March 26, 2023. The exhibition features twenty-four works that were recently acquired between 2021 and 2022, revealing the museum’s identity and future direction. As the first public art museum established in the Jeonnam Province, it has been acquiring works by local artists and works that depict the various aspects of the Jeonnam area, such as its scenery and history. The museum also aims to be a contemporary art museum by building a collection that spans multiple genres, such as installation, sculpture, photography, and media art.

New Acquisition presents the works of Jeong Kyungja, Park Jongyeong, Na Hyun, Lee Jinhee, Lee Wonho, Kim Dongsuk, Park Chanmin, Kwon Sejin, Yoon-Hee, Song Eunyoung, In Choonkyo, Cho Haeyoung, Moon Inhwan, Lee Jeongrok, Lee Insung, Noh Juwhan, Yoon Sunhong, Min Byungkil, Yoon Junyoung, Choi Yoan, Son Junho, Yoon Seyoung, Sen Chung, and Min Byunghun.

The JMA will hold solo exhibitions by local artists Ko Wha-hum and Song Phil-Yong and plans to seek out and support young artists who are actively working inside and outside the Jeonnam area through the “Jeonnam Young Artist Award” (working title) program.

The museum will also feature contemporary art exhibitions introducing both Korean and international artists. Garden of Poetry (working title) is scheduled to take place at the museum in conjunction with the Suncheonman International Garden Expo 2023. Set in Jeonnam literature, this exhibition will examine the mutual connection between art and literature through the works of media artist Yuri An; artist Lee Mae-Lee, who takes an archeological and anthropological approach to her works; Im Heung-soon, who works with film and video installation; and Taiwanese-American artist Lee Mingwei, who is known for his participatory installations. Another international exchange exhibition, Another Sea-Daeyanggi (渡大洋記) (working title), will reveal the journey of contemporary art through Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.

Other exhibitions include a solo exhibition by Richard Kennedy (b. 1985), an American artist whose works examine the queer African-American experience through visual art, composition, opera, scriptwriting, and performance. This year, JMA also plans to host an exhibition featuring the Lee Kun-hee collection and a special exhibition exploring the icon of a flower.

References

• 전남도립미술관 (Jeonnam Museum of Art, JMA)