MMCA 국립현대미술관 National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Kim Kulim is a solo exhibition highlighting the oeuvre of Kim Kulim, a pioneer of Experimental art. This exhibition testifies to avant-garde elements in the artist’s unique practice at the forefront of art across various media, genres, and themes from the 1950s to today. It serves as a comprehensive survey of the artist who ventured beyond the boundaries of fine art, including video art, installation, print, performance, and painting, into fields as diverse as dance, theater, film, and music.

Despite Kim Kulim’s decisive position in the history of Korean modern and contemporary art, opportunities to explore and experience his works in depth have been insufficient. This exhibition thus aims to shed new light on the art historical achievements of Kim Kulim as well as the trajectories of his current practice. It traverses early paintings in the 1960s produced within existential crises following the Korean War, performances and installations presented amid the wave of Korean experimental art in the 1960–70s, and the Yin and Yang series that has continued since the mid-1980s. Furthermore, the exhibition introduces large-scale installations and hybrid performances bridging film, dance, music, and theater that illustrate Kim Kulim’s undeniable contemporaneity.

The subversive, multidirectional endeavors of Kim Kulim embarking from the 1950s were reactions to the times as well as a resistance against conventions – which is why they may appear too foreign to be readily grasped by audiences who inhabit a different era. Therefore, this exhibition focuses primarily on conveying Kim Kulim’s oeuvre as holistically as possible, whereas it was previously presented in partial views. We hope you are able walk with Kim Kulim to revisit watershed moments in his career, and to widen your understanding of Korean art history along the steps of the artist’s life.