The Collection is one of the crucial elements that compose museums. It is the mission of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Korea, to collect and to preserve works so as to establish Korean art history and to share contemporary art with the public. The MMCA therefore has made considerable efforts to collect outstanding contemporary artworks that are representative of South Korea and reflect the age. Such acquisitions are introduced and used through various special exhibitions and educational activities. Annually held to showcase acquisitions from the previous year, the “New Acquisitions” exhibition reflects the flows and trends in contemporary art. In 2012, a total of 201 works were collected, 133 of them purchased and 68 of them donated, respectively.
From among works collected in 2012, this exhibition consists mainly of those that had few opportunities to be shown in other exhibitions and were donated. It can be seen largely in terms of two themes and one special area. First, the two themes are “Reading Society in Art,” which reflects our lives and reality, and “Reading Abstract Art,” which focuses on modernist works. Under “Reading Society in Art,” through their works, artists express in their unique ways contemporary people’s alienated lives and desires, ideal worlds, and diverse ways of life. Under “Reading Abstract Art,” artists comically interpret abstract art, which has brought about a gulf between the public and art. Finally, a separate space has been set aside in the exhibition hall for a special showcase of donated works. Created to honor donors and to vitalize a culture of donation, special exhibitions of donated works will be held continuously in the future. Many photographic works were donated in 2012, thus enabling visitors to overview the flows in contemporary photography. This exhibition will serve as an opportunity to look back on ourselves and our surroundings.
* New Acquisitions 2011 is being held in 2014 due to the MMCA’s circumstances. An exhibition of works collected in 2013 and 2014 will be held in 2015.
