Kim YoungEun,
Installation view of 《Korea Artist Prize 2025》 ⓒMMCAThe National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA),
in partnership with the SBS Foundation, presents 《Korea Artist Prize 2025》 exhibition until February 1, 2026, at MMCA Seoul.
“Korea Artist Prize” is a leading contemporary art award and
artist support program jointly organized by the MMCA and the SBS Foundation
since 2012. Each year, four artists (or artist groups) are selected to receive
support for the production and exhibition of new works, as well as assistance
for their overseas projects.
Kim
Jipyeong, Installation view of 《Korea Artist Prize 2025》 ⓒMMCAThis year’s Korea Artist Prize exhibition presents not only new
works but also key works from the artists’ oeuvres in order to offer a
multidimensional perspective on their artistic visions. In addition, an ‘Artist
& Jury Talk,’ to be held in early 2026, will serve to deepen public
understanding of the artists’ thematic concerns.
This year’s selectees, Kim YoungEun, Im Youngzoo, Kim Jipyeong,
and Unmake Lab, are linked by a common thread: through different media and
languages, they address the unseen—the concealed or omitted, the marginalized
or forgotten layers of the world.
Unmake Lab,
Installation view of 《Korea Artist Prize 2025》 ⓒMMCAIn response to the question, “How might worlds beyond visible
boundaries be revealed?” they interrogate the politics of representation and
engage in critical reflection on the very ways in which we perceive the world. 《Korea Artist Prize 2025》 examines the new
sensibilities and narratives emerging in the interstices these artists open up,
traversing sound and politics, tradition and dongyanghwa (Eastern painting),
superstition and science, and technology and humanity.
Im Youngzoo,
Installation view of 《Korea Artist Prize 2025》 ⓒMMCAThe final winner of 《Korea Artist Prize 2025》 will be announced in January 2026, following public discussions
with domestic and international jurors and a second round of judging during the
exhibition period. The second-round ‘Artist & Jury Talk’ will be open to
on-site audience participation and later shared online.
The final winner will be named the 2025 Artist of the Year and
receive an additional prize of KRW 10 million. Documentaries examining the
practices of the four selectees and the final awardee will be broadcast on SBS
terrestrial and cable channels.
