Relations between South Korea and Japan remained strained long after Japan’s colonial rule (1910-1945) ended. It took 20 years for the two countries to normalize diplomatic ties, and more than 60 years have passed since.
An exhibition marking that 60th anniversary now sheds light on how artists from both nations have engaged with one another over the past eight decades, bringing together nearly 200 works by 43 artists and collectives at MMCA Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province.
“Art Between Korea and Japan Since 1945” begins with works by Zainichi Korean artists — ethnic Koreans residing in Japan, many of whose families immigrated during the Japanese colonial era — revealing how they have persevered in a foreign country over generations, and continue artistic practices in the contemporary era.
Korean-born video art founder Nam June Paik is featured in the exhibition, which traces Paik’s studies in Japan and exchanges with Japanese artists since the 1960s. Paik met Kubota Shigeko, who later became his lifelong partner and collaborator, and participated in performances by the Japanese avant-garde collective Hi-Red Center.
The exhibition, a collaboration with the Yokohama Museum of Art, where the show was presented last year, also introduces the process through which artistic exchanges between the two countries became institutionalized following the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1965.
Highlights include photographs and archival materials from figures such as Lee Ufan and Park Seo-Bo, as well as evidence of collaborations between galleries like Myeong-dong Gallery and Tokyo Gallery.
The presentation goes on to reveal how Korean and Japanese artists have, since the 2000s, confronted one another’s historical issues and experiences of suffering and forged forms of solidarity.
Tanaka Koki and Takamine Tadasu reflect on the history of hatred and discrimination against Koreans, Tanaka through the wake of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Takamine via his personal experience of marrying a Zainichi Korean.
“This exhibition offers the opportunity to revisit historical moments experienced by both countries and the traces of artistic exchange formed through them. I hope this exhibition will serve as a chance for all to newly recognize the significance and potential of contemporary art in both Korea and Japan,” said Kim Sung-hee, MMCA director.
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