Roundtable: The Shape of Time: Korean Art after 1989
Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) curators Elisabeth Agro and Hyunsoo Woo, co-curators of the exhibition The Shape of Time: Korean Art after 1989, join Mia curator Leslie Ureña for a conversation about the exhibition. Featuring the artworks of twenty-five artists of Korean descent, the exhibition compellingly links past, present, and future, as informed by South Korea’s recent history. The artists bend time and place to make sense of their complex cultural experiences. They reflect on the rapid urbanization and industrialization that shaped South Korea, unresolved political tensions with North Korea, the use of traditional techniques in contemporary art, the pressure to conform to societal norms around gender and sexuality, and their own resistance to these experiences.
The presentation and conversation will introduce visitors to the exhibition, along with offering insight on the exhibition’s planning and Korean contemporary art.
Elisabeth Agro is the Nancy M. McNeil Curator of Modern and Contemporary Craft and Decorative Arts, Modern and Contemporary Art Department at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. An internationally recognized specialist in the field of modern and contemporary craft and decorative arts, Elisabeth’s curatorial purview includes craft made in global contexts, working collaboratively with colleagues and artists to advance an international view of contemporary decorative arts.
Hyunsoo Woo is the Pappas-Sarbanes Deputy Director for Collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and formerly held the position of Maxine and Howard Lewis Curator of Korean Art and Head of the East Asian Art Department. A leading authority in the field, Woo’s curatorial interests span traditional to contemporary Korean art. Woo has been instrumental in organizing groundbreaking exhibitions that illuminate various aspects of Korean art. In addition to the present exhibition, she curated the highly acclaimed exhibition, “Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392–1910” (2014, with catalogue published by Yale University Press), the first major exhibition dedicated to the subject of Korean art at PMA. The exhibition traveled to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
“The Shape of Time: Korean Art after 1989” is on view at Mia from March 23–June 23, 2024. Purchase tickets here starting March 11. The exhibition was organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and is accompanied by a scholarly catalogue published by Yale University Press.