Book Times Reimagined

Time Reimagined is published in conjunction with the project Chun Kwang Young: Times Reimagined, a Collateral Event of the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Edited by Yongwoo Lee and published by Marsilio Editori, this book is one of the key fruitions of research on Chun Kwang Young’s recent 20-year work and his philosophy, as well as the broader context of social and ecological interconnectedness that has been imbued in his work.

Nine authors contributed their essays, including Yongwoo Lee, Manuela Lucà-Dazio, Stefano Boeri, Anastasia Kucherova, Anne Pasternak, Joan Cummins, Andrew Brewerton, John C. Welchman, and Liyin Wang. From contemporary art practice and architecture to biological, ecological and anthropological perspective; from historical review to contemporary introspection; and from the notion of time to space, these essays invite readers to embark on a cross-disciplinary adventure of shuttling among the imaginative and the realistic, thus reimagining the times artist Chun Kwang Young wove.

The book is replete with not only words sparkling with wisdom but also visually compelling images of artist and architect’s works of detail and site-specificity, apart from close-ups of artist Chun Kwang Young’s working process. 

During the exhibition period (until November 27, 2022), the book is on sale at the exhibition site, Palazzo Contarini Polignac, and the bookshop of the Biennale site, Arsenale and Giardini.

The use of traditional materials and organic dyes, and his meticulous process, imbues Chun’s compositions with a timeless quality that has been recognised around the world. In 2001 Chun received the artist of the year award from the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea. His works are included in esteemed public collections such as the United Nations and Rockefeller Foundation in New York, the National Gallery of Australia at Canberra, and were recently exhibited in a three-man show with Anselm Kiefer and Gotthard Graubner at the Kunstwerk museum in Eberdingen-Nussdorf, Germany (2012).

The book includes such special features as a gatefold, tinted pages, and a jacket printed on hanji, traditional handmade Korean mulberry paper.

ARTIST?  / 2014 Fré Ilgen

This unique survey examines the contemporary art scene in Korea, which is one of the most dynamic and least known areas of the contemporary art world. The works of today's Korean artists are rarely found between the pages of any general art book, yet they ahve become a major force in the global art world. Korea is rich with internationally renowned painters, photographers, and multi-media artists. This book features Korea's most talented and prolific artists and their works, from the powerful and grand-scale installations of Do Ho Suh and the eye-popping sculptures of Choi Jeong-Hwa to the minimalist performance of Kimsooja, and the intellectually challenging videos and sculptures of Michael Joo. The artists' diverse bodies of work often deal with issues relating to tradition, politics, society, alienation, identity, and popular culture. This generously illustrated and engagingly written volume offers a concise introduction to the world of contemporary Korean art.