Capital and Countryside in Korea

On view in the Jin Joo Gallery of the Wan Koo and Young Ja Huh Korean Art Wing, Capital and Countryside in Korea investigates the representation of urban and rural spaces in Korean art. Featuring a wide array of objects spanning the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE -668 CE) to the present, this installation touches upon themes of memory and nostalgia , cultural heritage, written language, production and industry, and the significance of specific locales to investigate how these spaces have impacted the histories, cultures, and identities of people throughout the Korean Peninsula.

In conversation with the objects on view in Capital and Countryside in Korea , the Huh Wing Gallery features a selection of works by modern and contemporary women artists in celebration of the 50 th anniversary of the U i e i f O eg Ce e f he S d f W e i S cie ty (CSWS).

These works recall the painting traditions of the yangban the male NeoConfucian scholar- officials who governed during K ea J e e i d (1392-1897). The Neo-Confucianism espoused by the yangban emphasized self-cultivation and aesthetic refinement and thus Joseon scholar-officials were celebrated for their literary and artistic achievements as well as their government service. Nevertheless, Joseon Korea was also one of the most gender-stratified societies of its time, and the contributions of women who were almost exclusively confined to the domestic sphere have thus been overlooked and obscured. By referencing painting traditions associated with the yangban such as evocative literati landscapes, ancestor portraits, and images of the Ten Symbo ls of Longevity (sipjangsaeng) and scholarly-accoutrements (chaekgeori) the 20th-21st-century artists claim these cultural traditions as their own and highlight the strength, resilience, and artistic contributions of Korean women.

Both installations are curated by MacKenzie Coyle, 2021 -23 Post-Graduate Curatorial Fellow in Asian Art.