Quest of the new world of art where even art forms and appreciation methods are new
Opening of a large exhibition hall (2,000㎡) where even the exhibition space and viewers become part of a work of art

The National Museum of Contemporary Art (represented by Soonhoon Bae) announces a special exhibition, Artist of the Year 2010 Kiwon Park; Who‘s Afraid of Museums?, from April 6 (Tue) to may 30 (Fri) focused on the world of art built by Kiwon Park who is selected as the Artist of the Year 2010

As an artist Kiwon Park has been devoted to imaginative-specific site- works focused on space as his subject. Widely regarded as a minimalist uniquely Korean among the critics, he has continued to open new chapters in the Korean modern art since the mid 1990s via the creative works that suggest a new method of appreciation for the viewers as well as the way a work of art exists. His unique works led him to various national and international art events including the Venice Biennale in 2005 and the Reina Sofia National Museum in Madrid, Spain, in 2006.

His exhibition in the National Museum of Contemporary Art takes place at the 2nd
Exhibition Hall and the Central Hall (2000㎡), presenting three works titled "Scenery",
"Dim" and "AirWall" plus a documentary video clip providing an introduction to the world of his art. His works involve covering the interior wall of the Central Hall with a 2,000m-long vinyl wallpaper sheet containing drawings that the artist made for two months and a structure of 2 tones of stainless wire with 0.2mm in diameter built by a group of ten people for a period of 15 days. These works filling the entire exhibition spaces are expected to guide the viewers to the characteristic nature of the Park's art in which not just the spaces between the works but also the spectators contained in the spaces become part of the works. In other words, his works refuse the artistic tradition in which viewers try to understand a work of art just by watching it, and lead them to the perception of a changed space by using all the senses available, including tactile and even auditory senses, as well as their own physical movement. The viewers who enter an art work and perceive the changed space via his body and cognitive ability form a crucial part of the Park's art.

The subtitle of the exhibition, Who's Afraid of Museums?, is taken from Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a play written by an American playwright Edward Albee in 1962. The title, which Albee used to urge his readers to face the cruelty of reality without fear, became famous in the world of art when Barnett Newman, who greatly contributed to the rise of minimal art in the 1960s that was focused on purer art forms and viewer participation, put the title, Who's afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue?, for his painting in 1966. The subtitle of the exhibition, Who's Afraid of Museums?, contains the artist's intention to change the museum space and guide visitors to a new, freer artistic experience. The event is expected to turn the museum into a vehicle that narrows the gap between the artist, his works and the viewers via active participation and communication.