“Connecting Bodies: Asian Women Artists” Catalog published by MMCA

FOREWORD

Through its various academic research and exhibition activities, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) is engaged in multifaceted efforts to establish the place of Korean modern and contemporary art history within the dynamic currents of contemporary art in Asia and throughout the world. The exhibition Connecting Bodies: Asian Women Artsists was organized as part of these efforts. At a historical moment when the global art world is focusing greater and greater interest in women’s artwork, the Connecting Bodies exhibition’s approach of spotlighting the work of major Asian women artists since the 1960s appears especially timely. The exhibition is particularly meaningful in offering a multilayered examination of Korean women artists’ work within the broader realm of Asian women’s art.

The exhibition adopts the idea of “corporeality” as a lens for observing the period since the 1960s, when women’s art began in earnest in Asia. In this context, it shares around 130 works by roughly 60 major Asian women artists who are important in art history terms and who for the most part remain prolifically active in the contemporary art field. Through the creations of artists from 11 countries-Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India-it turns a new contemporary perspective on Asian women’s art within a supranational framework.

The planning for Connecting Bodies was based on investigative visits to different countries in Asia. As an exhibition, it focuses on works that re-examine modernity as they present experiences of cultural otherness inscribed on bodies in the geographical and political context of Asia. It further establishes connections with aspects of women’s culture where nature, culture, art, and life have been understood as integrated rather than separate. Through this, it sees in Asian women’s art the possibilities for art to serve as a network connecting with others.

Many people provided their assistance in allowing this exhibition to take place. I would first like to extend my sincere thanks to the participating artists who shared their work for this exhibition. I also would like to thank the art institutions and collectors who loaned their invaluable artworks and archival materials to allow this exhibition to proceed. My thanks go out as well to the catalog contributors, scholars, and researchers who shared information that supported the development of the exhibition and related research. I hope that this exhibition will be an opportunity to explore the contemporary significance of art by Asian women.

Kim Sunghee, Director, National Museum of Modern And Contemporary Art, Korea.

Connecting Bodies – Asian Women Artists

Curator: Myungji BAE

Assistant Curator：Jooyoung Oh

Artists in the exhibition

Agnes ARELLANO, Aki SASAMOTO, Amanda HENG, Arahmaiani, Araya RASDJARMREARNSOOK,Atsuko TANAKA, Bharti KHER, Brenda FAJARDO, CAO Fei（曹斐）, CHANG jia, CHOI Jae-eun, CHUNG Chanseung, JUNG Kangja, and KANG Kukjin, Eisa JOCSON. Fitriani Dwi KURNIASIH (Fitri DK), Fluxus, GUO Fengyi（郭凤怡）, HA Minsu, HE Chengyao（何成瑶）, HONG LEE Hyunsook, I Gusti Ayu Kadek MURNIASIH, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, IPGIM, JANG Pa, JOO Myong-Duck, Joyce HO, JUNG Jungyeob, JUNG Kangja, KIM Insoon, KIM Nahee, Kiyoji OTSUJI, LEE Bul, LEE Eunsil, LEE Mire, LEE Soon-Jong, Mai ENDO × Aya MOMOSE, Mako IDEMITSU, Mariko MORI, Melati SURYODARMO, Mella JAARSMA, MIN Yong Soon, Al-An DESOUZA, Mitsuko TABE, Mrinalini MUKHERJEE, Nadiah BAMADHAJ, NAM Hwayeon, OH Kyung Hwa, Pacita ABAD, PARK Youngsook, Pinaree SANPITAK, RYU Jun Hwa, Shigeko KUBOTA, siren eun young jung × KIRARA, Tari ITO, Thảo Nguyên PHAN, Theresa Hak Kyung CHA, TONG Wenmin（童文敏）, WEN Hui（文慧）, WU Mali, XIAO Lu (肖鲁）, Yayoi KUSAMA, YEE I-Lann, YEOM Jihye, YIN Xiuzhen（尹秀珍）, Yoko ONO, YUN Suknam

Chinese Artists in the exhibition include：CAO Fei（曹斐），GUO Fengyi（郭凤怡），HE Chengyao（何成瑶），TONG Wenmin（童文敏），WEN Hui（文慧），XIAO Lu (肖鲁），YIN Xiuzhen（尹秀珍）。

Time:  3 September 2024 – 3 March 2025

Location: MMCA Seoul, South Korea

Exhibition link

https://www.mmca.go.kr/eng/exhibitions/exhibitionsDetail.do?exhFlag=2&exhId=202403220001771