Sculptor Yang Jung-uk Wins Korea Artist Prize 2024
Yang was recognised for his innovative approach to sculpture and installation, through which he tells intimate stories from his life and of people around him. Save to My Ocula
Seoul-born sculptor Yang Jung-uk has been awarded the Korea Artist Prize 2024 by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul (MMCA).
Yang was one of four finalists, alongside artists Hayoun Kwon, Jane Jin Kaisen, and Jiyoung Yoon. He was awarded 10 million KRW (7,000 USD), in addition to the 50 million KRW (34,500 USD) presented to each shortlisted artist to develop new work.
Yang was selected for his innovative approach to sculpture. MMCA director Kim Sunghee described Yang’s works as ‘render[ing] the most human of worlds by combining exceedingly simple and ordinary images of life with beautiful dreamscapes’.
On view at MMCA, Yang’s Someone I Know, in His Garden I’ve Never Seen (2024) is a kinetic installation that references his wife’s devotion to a small vegetable plot, alongside a story he wrote of a son reminiscing about his late father through a backyard garden.
Founded in 2012, the Korea Artist Prize is an annual award by the MMCA and SBS Foundation that recognises artists for their contribution to Korean contemporary art.
The jury committee made their decision based on the finalists’ funded work, which are on view in the Korea Artist Prize 2024 Exhibition at MMCA until 23 March 2025. —[O]
Main image: Yang Jung-uk. Courtesy National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul.
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