Celebrity Forms and Figures

Inspired by the aura of global fame and popularity in Hallyu! The Korean Wave, the Koret Korean Galleries currently highlight artworks that speak to the idea of celebrity in a variety of creative ways.

A brief survey of celebrity artists — renowned figures in the Korean art scene — includes works in watercolor, photography, and sculpture by Kim Whanki, Lee Gapchul, and Paik Nam June, as well as an arresting abstract painting by Korean American artist SoHyun Bae.

The moon jar, which Assistant Curator of Korean Art Yoon-Jee Choi calls “the pop star of Korean traditional art,” takes center stage in a section where past meets present, with a beloved, 350-year-old moon jar from the museum collection presented adjacent to two striking 2023 porcelain examples being shown for the first time. In another cross-generational moment, a circular installation of Goryeo dynasty ladles and spoons appealingly mirrors Gapchul’s 1996 photograph of utensils set around a dining table.

At the center of the exhibition are two 2023 paintings by Etsu Egami, portraits of well-known Korean celebrities, also on view here for the first time. Regarding the inclusion of Egami, a Japanese artist, Choi notes: “These paintings reflect a global friendship; the artist and her subjects don’t speak each other’s language fluently, but they communicate through art. Collaboration within Asia creates another unique identity, especially for our generation. I think it’s an ongoing diasporic conversation, and my personal suggestion and answer is to embrace yourself. You don’t have to define yourself based on a nation; you just have to define who you are.”

“According to my title, I’m a curator of Korean art,” says Choi, “but I also work on Japanese and Chinese art, and my dissertation explores art-historical interaction between Japan and Korea. As we’re advancing into the new era of art history and consuming art, I think we have the power and responsibility to break away from our comfort zone and try to explore transregional, transmedia interactions. It invests a fresh interpretation and view into so-called traditional objects.”