Tell Me Tell Me: Australian and Korean Art 1976-2011 is a major exhibition of Korean and Australian contemporary art celebrating 2011 as the Australian-Korean Year of Friendship.
The exhibition highlights the historical and ongoing connections between Australian and Korean art and showcases works from the collections of both the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney and the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul (NMOCA). It is presented in Sydney in association with the National Art School, after which it will travel to NMOCA, opening in Seoul in November 2011.
Tell Me Tell Me is inspired by pioneering video and performance artist Nam June Paik’s 1976 visit to Sydney which was one of John Kaldor’s earliest Projects, and the 1976 Biennale of Sydney Beauty of Distance: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age, which included a group of important Korean artists. It explores conceptual, fluxus and technological art being created in both Korea and Australia at that time and regional variations in both countries over three decades to the present day. The exhibition also explores the idea of artists using recent art histories to influence new work and sculpture, installation and object-based art forms now under the weight of conceptualism.
The core of the exhibition comprises a significant collection of historical works by important artists from both countries, including Nam June Paik, Marr Grounds, Terry Reid, Noel Sheridan, Stelarc, Shim Moon-Seup, Kang So-Lee, Insic Quik, Rosalie Gascoigne, Gaiyabidja Lalara, Don Gundinga and Lee U Fan. Their work is shown alongside a younger generation of artists including Brook Andrew, Louise Weaver, Nyapanyapa, Charlie Sofo, Brown Council, Lou Hubbard, Stuart Ringholt, TV Moore, Beom Kim, Yeesookyung, Haegue Yang, Hyun Ki Park, Chung SeoYoung, Kim Eull.
National Art School alumni Ken Unsworth and Newell Harry are featured in Tell Me Tell Me. Ken Unsworth is one of Australia’s most renowned artists, originally studying painting at the National Art School, his work began to embrace performance, sculpture and site-specific installations. Recently he created the monumental A Ringing Glass (Rilke) project on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour in 2009.
Trained at the National Art School from 1993-1995, Newell Harry’s work adopts visual and spoken language from across cultures and continents. Combining his experiences and collaborations with communities from Australia; Cape Town, South Africa, where his family is originally from; and Pacific islands such as Vanuatu where he has spent a significant amount of time, the artist creates explicitly modest works that intentionally blur cultural and gender specificity. His work was featured in the 2010 Biennale of Sydney, The Beauty of Distance.
The National Art School is delighted to partner with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, to present the exhibition Tell Me Tell Me. This partnership marks another important exchange for the National Art School with artists and organisations in Korea. For the past decade NAS has worked on a number of projects with Hong-Ik University and Kongju National University, involving artist residencies, education, and exhibitions.
Jointly curated by MCA Curator Glenn Barkley and NMOCA Curator Inhye Kim, the exhibition will be held at the National Art School Gallery, Darlinghurst and will open on 17 June 2011. It will be exhibited from 8 November 2011 to 19 February 2012 and the NMOCA, Seoul.
Tell Me Tell Me: Australian and Korean Art 1976 – 2011 is a partnership between the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea presented in association with the National Art School, Sydney.
Supported by the Australian Government through the Australia International Cultural Council, an initiative of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australia-Korea Foundation, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
