The Paris Biennale Where Lee Ufan and Lee Kang So Made Their Mark... Revisiting the Intersection of Korean and Japanese Contemporary Art

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, to Present Findings from Two-Year Joint Research
Internationalization of Korean and Japanese Art Through the Paris Biennale, 1959-1985
Six Experts from Korea, Japan, and France, Including Lee Kang So and Susumu Koshimizu, to Participate
International Symposium in Seoul on October 30; Exhibition in Tokyo in February 2027

For young artists in Korea and Japan in the 1970s, the Paris Biennale was a gateway to the world, beyond the established order of their countries' art scenes. A symposium will revisit the exchanges between Korean and Japanese contemporary art and their paths to internationalization through the exhibition, which helped Korean experimental artists, including Lee Ufan and Lee Kang So, enter the international art scene.

Poster for “The Paris Biennale and Korean and Japanese Art,” an international symposium co-hosted by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, at the MMCA Seoul on the 30th. The symposium will examine exchanges between Korean and Japanese contemporary art and their paths to internationalization, focusing on the Paris Biennale, held from 1959 to 1985. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea.

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, said on October 14 that it will hold the international symposium "The Paris Biennale and Korean and Japanese Art" on October 30 at the MMCA Seoul Multi-Project Hall, in collaboration with the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. The event will mark the first presentation of findings from joint research conducted by the two museums over two years starting in 2025. Six researchers, curators, artists, and critics from Korea, Japan, and France will present their work.

The Paris Biennale was an international art exhibition held 13 times in Paris, France, between 1959 and 1985. It was launched to restore Paris's cultural and artistic standing after World War II, and provided artists aged 20 to 35 with opportunities to present their work. For young artists in Korea and Japan at the time, it was an important platform for encountering new trends in Western art firsthand and building ties with the international art world.

The history of Korean artists' participation reflects the changes in contemporary art, from Informel to experimental art. Lee Ufan, in particular, participated as a Korean artist in 1971 and then served as a Korean artist-recommendation committee member, or correspondant, from 1973 to 1977. Positioned between Japan's Mono-ha movement and Korean contemporary art, he broadened his international activities through the Paris Biennale.

The symposium will also feature testimony from artists who participated in the biennale at the time. Susumu Koshimizu, a leading artist of Japan's Mono-ha movement, and Lee Kang So, a representative of Korean experimental art, will each share their experiences from 1971 and 1975, respectively. They will look back on the working conditions and international exhibition scene of the time, when artists challenged the forms and institutions of established art.

The symposium will be held in two parts. In Part 1, "The History and Reinterpretation of the Paris Biennale," Elitza Dulguerova, an assistant professor at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, will present the findings of international joint research by the French National Institute of Art History. Shiori Sahara, a curator at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and Jeon Yushin, a curator at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, will each analyze the history and art-historical significance of Japan's and Korea's participation in the Paris Biennale.

In Part 2, "The Paris Biennale: On the Ground and as an Institution," Koshimizu and Lee Kang So will give presentations, followed by art critic Toshiaki Minemura's review of changes in the biennale's organizational system and its limitations. From 1973 to 1977, Minemura served three times as the biennale's only international committee member from Asia.

Changes in the way artists were selected for the Paris Biennale in the 1970s will be a key topic of discussion. In 1971, artists were selected by country. In 1975, the system changed: each country's recommendation committee proposed candidates, and international committee members made the final selection. The symposium will also examine how these institutional changes affected the entry of artists from non-Western countries into the international art scene.

This event is the first presentation of findings from a joint research project by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. The two institutions agreed to jointly research topics at the intersection of Korean and Japanese art history and share their findings through exhibitions, publications, and academic events. Japan's National Center for Art Research (NCAR) also took part as a partner institution. The research will lead to an exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, in February 2027.

"This symposium is an opportunity to share the results of the joint research project between the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and a meaningful occasion to renew the exchanges among Korea, Japan, and France forged through the Paris Biennale," said Yoon Taewook, acting director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. "I hope it will be a first step toward shaping the future of our ongoing joint research project."

Registration for the symposium will open at 10 a.m. on October 16 on the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, website. Admission is free, and registration is limited to the first 250 people.

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