Experimental Korean art exhibit 'Only the Young' opens at L.A. Hammer Museum

The free exhibition "Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s,” will open at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles on Feb. 11 and run until May 12, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art said Monday.

Hammer Museum in Los Angeles [MMCA]

An exhibition dedicated to Korean experimental art titled “Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s,” will open at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) said Monday.

It’s the show’s third stop, following a stint at MMCA’s Seoul branch in central Seoul and then the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York last year. The two shows drew an audience of more than 250,000 people.

The exhibition features some 80 works of 29 artists, including Ha Chong-hyun, Kim Ku-lim, Lee Seung-taek, Sung Neung Kyung, Lee Kun-yong, Jung Kang-ja and Lee Kang-so. The artworks range across painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, installations and film.

The poster for “Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s,” which is held at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles from Feb. 11 to May 12 [MMCA]

Experimental art emerged after the Korean War as a way for artists to respond to socioeconomic and political changes in the country. It was around this time that artists would expand their mediums from traditional painting and sculpture to performances, installations and video, making a major shift to dynamic and innovative approaches to art.

“Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea 1960s-1970s” continues until May 12. The Hammer Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Los Angeles. The exhibition is free.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]