National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art publishes English-language book on its collection

Artist Park Re-hyun is introduced in “MMCA Collection 300.” (MMCA)

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, has published “MMCA Collection 300” in English, providing an introduction to representative modern and contemporary works from the museum’s holdings.

The Korean-language edition of the book was published in 2019 to commemorate the museum’s 50th anniversary, and was a bestseller at major online bookstores in South Korea.

The English-language edition features a glossary section newly added for international readers who want to learn about Korea’s modern and contemporary art. It introduces terminology and major developments in Korean art history such as the Korean Avant-Garde Association, and how the “art informel” movement developed in Korea. 

The cover of “MMCA Collection 300” (MMCA)

"MMCA Collection 300” offers 300 selected artworks by 300 artists from the modern and contemporary eras, spanning from 1910 to 2019. Some of the works can be seen in person at two exhibitions -- “MMCA Collection Highlights 2020+,” the permanent exhibition at MMCA Seoul, and “Artists in Their Times: Korean Modern and Contemporary Art” at MMCA Gwacheon.

“The English version of MMCA Collection 300 will quench the thirst of foreign readers who want to know more about Korean art. We will accelerate the globalization of Korean modern and contemporary art through English publications of the museum collection,” said Youn Bum-mo, the MMCA’s director.

The book can be purchased online at the museum’s online store, mmcashop.co.kr. International shipping to Europe, Asia and the Americas is available, according to the museum.

The MMCA’s three venues -- Seoul, Gwacheon and Cheongju -- are currently open to visitors on a reservation basis. Reservations can be made at kguide.kr/mmca001/. The Deoksugung venue will open Feb. 4 with “The Intersection of Art and Literature in Modern Korean History,” an exhibition that looks into how Korean literature and art influenced one another in the modern era.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)