SEOUL SOUTH KOREA, July 28th, 2010 - The National Museum of Contemporary Art (Director Soonhoon Bae) will host the exhibition Realism in Asian Art starting on July 27 (Tue). The project is being brought to you in collaboration with the National Art Gallery Singapore and is set to tour the exhibition halls of both Korea and Singapore. It will introduce 104 paintings from ten Asian countries - Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and India - borrowed from over forty private owners. Many Asian National Museums have taken part in the project. The Korean government mobilized its diplomatic influence to include artwork normally prohibited from overseas carriage in the exhibition. Other than the fourteen pieces by local artists, the exhibition features works never seen before in Korea. The exhibition is accompanied by an art book, the fruit of three years’ research by twenty-five art historians, critics and curators from all over Asia.

Realism in Asian Art is an exhibition that looks at the impact of the Realist art movement on the Asia region. Unlike the way the Realist movement evolved in Europe, the works here reveal a distinct Asian sensibility, expressing the region’s grapple with modernity, independence and nationhood in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Across Asia, the powerful images of realistic artworks have often inspired and provoked compelling emotions. Through a display of 80 select paintings from across various public and private collections in Asia, Realism in Asian Art examines how this important art movement weaves together a fascinating tale of heroism, valour and hope in a time of tremendous turmoil in Asia.

Press Contact: Soleh Choe, +82-2-2188-6236, soleh@korea.kr
For more information, visit website www.moca.go.kr

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