Latest news with #LayeredMedium:WeAreinOpenCircuits'
Korea Herald
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Abu Dhabi, Seoul collaboration brings discussion on contemporary art to Manarat Al Saadiyat
Coinciding with the exhibition 'Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits' — the largest presentation of Korean contemporary art in the Gulf Cooperation Council region — public programs and panel discussion are scheduled to be held at the Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi. The exhibition spanning six decades of Korean contemporary art kicked off Friday as a collaboration between the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and Seoul Museum of Art, as part of Abu Dhabi Festival 2025. 'The Abu Dhabi Festival is a beacon for consolidating the role of cultural diplomacy in strengthening cooperation and partnerships with friendly nations,' said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs as well as a founding honorary patron of the Abu Dhabi Festival. 'In this regard, and based on the importance of its role in building bridges of cultural dialogue between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Korea, this exceptional exhibition embodies the advanced and prosperous strategic relations between the UAE and the friendly Republic of Korea,' he added, using the formal name of South Korea. The public program 'Layered Dialogues' takes place May 29, June 14 and 20. The upcoming program on May 29 is a panel discussion with the theme of 'Body as Medium InterFaces: Skin/Screen,' held in collaboration with the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. 'Featuring 48 exceptional works by pioneering South Korean artists, accompanied by an interactive community program open to all, this first-ever exhibition in the Middle East of the Seoul Museum of Art's collection at Manarat Al Saadiyat offers a unique opportunity to introduce local and regional audiences to the masterpieces of modern art,' said Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, minister of tolerance and coexistence as well as a patron of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation. Co-curated by UK-based independent curator Maya El Khalil and Yeo Kyung-hwan of the Seoul Museum of Art, "Layered Medium" traces key moments in Korea's contemporary art history, beginning with the radical experimentation of the 1960s and 1970s, when artists began working with video, photography and performance. 'Through our historic partnership with the world-renowned Seoul Museum of Art, we are setting a precedent for international institutional partnerships — thanks to the strength and depth of our shared ties. This is the first exhibition of the museum's collections outside of Korea, and the first exhibition of this magnitude of Korean art in the Arab world,' said Huda Alkhamis, founder of both the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and Abu Dhabi Festival. "Layered Medium" is presented as part of Abu Dhabi Festival 2025, with the support of the festival's principal partners — Mubadala Investment Company and G42 — and its energy partner, GS Energy.
CairoScene
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
This Mind-Bending Exhibition Will Teleport You from Abu Dhabi to Seoul
Robots, weird machines, and enough sci-fi to make your brain do a backflip—this one's for those who like their art with a side of magic. If your summer travel plans happen to include a cultural adventure through Abu Dhabi (and seriously, they should), you might want to get ready for a little teleportation magic. Right on Saadiyat Island—a buzzing cultural hub with pristine beaches, luxury resorts, and some of the region's most iconic museums—a cross-country portal has just opened, and if you venture through, you'll find yourself face to face with the wild, shimmering world of Korean contemporary art. Inside Manarat Al Saadiyat, the island's coolest art space, the mind-bending exhibition 'Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits' is a full-on conceptual voyage through Korea's artistic evolution, told by the very creators who pushed the boundaries of what art can be. Curated by Kyung-hwan Yeo of Seoul Museum of Art and Maya El Khalil of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation—the two institutions co-organizing the show—'Layered Medium' pulses with poetic robots, glitched-out memories, kinetic sculptures, speculative cities, and video pieces that feel like time machines. At the center of this buzzing creative circuit is Nam June Paik—the legendary godfather of video art whose works feel like a playful mashup of sci-fi, philosophy, and good old-fashioned mischief. Alongside him, you'll find some of Korea's most iconic and imaginative voices, like: Yunchul Kim, whose intricate kinetic machines are so alive they might just start humming along as you watch, and Park Hyun-Ki, a pioneer who danced along the blurry line between technology and metaphysics. And because this is Abu Dhabi—a city that never does things halfway—the exhibition is more than just what's on the walls. A rich programme of talks, performances, and screenings runs throughout the season, inviting deeper dialogue on everything from technology and identity to memory, migration, and modernity. There's even a bilingual publication, 'Layered Dialogues', that maps the shared ideas, rhythms, and visions between Korea and Abu Dhabi. On view until June 30th, 2025 (and yes, it's totally free!), this is your chance to jump off the usual tourist trail and dive headfirst into Korea's wildest creative playground—all without leaving Abu Dhabi.
Korea Herald
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Six decades of Korean contemporary art unfold in UAE's largest showcase
'Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits' runs through June 30 at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi The history and evolution of Korea's contemporary art scene is now on view in the United Arab Emirates through the most extensive presentation to date in the Gulf Cooperation Council region. Titled 'Layered Medium: We Are In Open Circuits,' the exhibition opened Friday at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi, featuring 48 works by 29 Korean artists and spanning the 1960s to the present. All works are part of the Seoul Museum of Art's collection, and the exhibition was co-curated by UK-based independent curator Maya El Khalil and Yeo Kyung-hwan of SeMA. 'Works from the Seoul Museum of Art's collection that may have carried specific cultural resonance in Seoul could become more abstract or universal here, while other dimensions of this location surface new meanings,' said El Khalil. 'This transfer is not a loss but a transformation, where different depths of connection become possible.' Visitors will encounter works by pioneering experimental artists Park Hyun-ki and Lee Kun-yong; internationally acclaimed multimedia artists Kim Ayoung and Jun So-jung; and leading interdisciplinary figures such as Lee Bul and Haegue Yang. The exhibition traces key moments in Korea's contemporary art history, beginning with the radical experimentation of the 1960s and 1970s, when artists began working with video, photography and performance. Highlights include Paik Nam-june's 'Self-Portrait Dharma Wheel,' Park Hyun-ki's 'TV Fishbowl' and 'Video Inclining Water.' Also featured are works that examine the body and sensory perception as tools for understanding the world, including Lee Kun-yong's 'The Method of Drawing: Body Drawing 76-2' and Oh Min's 'Etude for Etude (Music Performance).' Organized as part of a three-year institutional partnership between SeMA and the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, the exhibition underscores six decades of Korea's media art history while fostering cultural dialogue with the UAE. 'This historic exhibition showcases the evolution of Korea's media art scene over six decades, as well as its interaction with the artistic landscape of the UAE,' said Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, founder of ADMAF. 'Under the joint curation of SeMA's Kyung-hwan Yeo and Maya El Khalil, it also highlights the pioneering figures whose innovation and creativity have helped define what contemporary art is today.' An accompanying publication, "Layered Dialogues," will include essays by UAE-based writers, further contextualizing the exhibition through a local lens. 'Layered Medium: We Are In Open Circuits' runs through June 30 in Abu Dhabi. A second co-curated exhibition, 'Intense Proximities,' will follow in December at the SeMA, showcasing three generations of UAE-based artists from the 1980s to the present. In addition to the exhibitions, the SeMA–ADMAF collaboration includes co-commissioned artworks, artist residencies, performances and film screenings in both Abu Dhabi and Seoul.
CairoScene
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
‘Layered Medium' Exhibit Brings Six Decades of Korean Art to Abu Dhabi
The Manarat Al Saadiyat exhibit runs until June 30th, marking the first major showcase of Korean contemporary art in the Gulf. May 11, 2025 Abu Dhabi's Manarat Al Saadiyat is set to host 'Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits', the first large-scale showcase of Korean contemporary art in the Gulf region. Running from May 16th to June 30th, 2025, the exhibit is a collaborative effort between the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) and the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA). Co-curated by SeMA's Kyung-hwan Yeo and independent curator Maya El Khalil, the exhibition features 48 works by 29 Korean artists, including pioneers like Nam June Paik and Park Hyunki, as well as contemporary figures such as Lee Bul, Haegue Yang, Ayoung Kim, and Moka Lee. The exhibition explores the evolution of Korea's avant-garde art scene over six decades, highlighting how artists have responded to social and technological changes. The exhibition's title, inspired by Nam June Paik's phrase 'We Are in Open Circuits,' reflects its focus on the medium as a system of communication. Visitors will encounter a diverse range of media, from early experiments in video and performance to immersive installations and digital simulations, offering insights into how media shapes perception, memory, and connection. Designed by the acclaimed studio Formafantasma, the exhibition space enhances the thematic exploration of media and communication. A dynamic public programme, including panel talks, screenings, and performances, will accompany the exhibition. Notably, on May 16th, a curatorial discussion featuring Kyung-hwan Yeo, Maya El Khalil, and artists Byungjun Kwon and Goen Choi will delve into the exhibition's conceptual framework. 'Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits' is open daily from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM at Manarat Al Saadiyat. Admission is free, and further details about the public programme are available online.
