Book launch, talk, and screening
Reinickendorfer Straße 17
13347 Berlin
Germany
Archive Books and The Floorplan are pleased to announce the publication of K-Artists (K with a strikethrough), a compilation of interviews with forty-seven younger-generation Korean artists. As the first-ever interview book on contemporary Korean artists in the English language, K-Artists offers a kaleidoscopic overview of the new and dynamic practices taking place in Seoul.
In the past decade, Korean contemporary art has captured the attention of a growing number of international biennales, exhibitions, and fairs, attracting an international audience to Korea’s local artists and the scene they comprise. Also, there has been a recent surge of global interest in Korean arts and popular culture, as evidenced by neologisms such as K-pop, K-film, K-drama and K-classic. This is where the questions of K-Artists begin: Despite a growing sense of nationalism in the global political stage, through a post-postmodernist lens, national categorization appears anachronistic. Is the prefix “K” then a mere political ploy and capitalist commodity? If “K” were to be removed, on the other hand, how else might we attempt at providing a portrait of the changing currents in Korea’s art scene given the largely homogenous Korean society? Is collective categorization or generalization ever worthwhile, and if so, to what extent can it be done without reducing or marginalizing individuals?
With these questions in mind, the three authors of K-Artists have carefully selected a roster of emerging artists who are active participants in the community to provide a snapshot of Seoul’s current art scene. This fully-illustrated publication is in an interview format that preserves each artist’s distinct voice and evolving practices as much as possible. K-Artists also includes a foreword by curator and writer Hyunjin Kim which traces and critically assesses the becoming of Seoul’s art scene.
Book launch talk and screening
June 30, 7:30pm
Archive Books
Reinickendorfer Strasse 17, 13347 Berlin
Introduction by Hyunjoo Byeon and Dokho Shin.
Talk by curator and writer of the foreword Hyunjin Kim with the participating artists Sooryeon Choe, Eugene Jung, Jihyun Jung, Bangjoo Kim, Minha Park, Sungsil Ryu and Young-jun Tak.
Moderated by Chiara Figone.
Video screening of the works by Bangjoo Kim, Minha Park and Sungsil Ryu.
Publication specs
Title: K-Artists (K with a strikethrough)
Category: Contemporary Art, artist interviews
Subjects: Contemporary Korean art, Seoul art scene, young and emerging artists
Publication Date: June 2023
Pages: Hardcover, 336 pages, color illustrations, 176 x 250 mm
ISBN: 978-3-949973-36-9
Publisher: Archive Books, Berlin & The Floorplan, Seoul
Authors: Hyunjoo Byeon, Diana Eunjee Kim, Hyukgue Kwon
Foreword by Hyunjin Kim
Editor: Gye Taek Gon (James Gui)
Design: Dokho Shin
Contact: mail [at] archivebooks.org, info [at] thefloorplan.net
This book is published with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Arts Management Service.
