The National Museum of
Modern and Contemporary Art Korea (MMCA) is presenting its first exhibition of
the year in MMCA Deoksugung, from April to July. This exhibition documents the
history and evolution of the work of the Egyptian surrealists and their remarkable
legacy, both within Egypt and the international surrealist circles from the
late 1930s to the early 1960s and the present. It sheds light on the
development of Egyptian surrealism, along with its links to international
surrealist organizations through its involvement in anti-Fascist and
post-colonial movements. The exhibition will be held at MMCA Deoksugung in
cooperation with Ministry of Culture in Egypt, Sharjah Art Foundation and the
American University in Cairo, providing opportunities for the audiences to
explore the various aspects of the modern period and interconnectivity of
international communities in the twentieth century, by moving away from the
Western-centric view. It brings you a perspective on the non-Western modernism
and emphasizes Egyptian surrealism, which is not a derivative or secondary
practice to the Western surrealism, but it is a unique experiment in modernity
that is worthy of its own studies. One of the notable points of this project is
the considerable amount of the collection that is on display at this
exhibition, including paintings, photographs and archival materials, are
marking their first international appearance outside of Egypt.
