Jury’s Statement

The finalists for the 3rd Doosan Yonkang Arts Awards in Fine Art includes 11 artists (seven individuals and two duos) born between 1972 and 1981, including some who stood out rather early on in their careers and those who have just begun their search for experimental methods. This is not much different from the previous year in that last year’s 11 nominees (eight artists and one trio) were born between 1971 and 1984. During final deliberation, there was a short discussion about the recommendations by referees as the difference in the level of each nominee was unusually significant depending on the referees. Like the previous year, opinions were brought up to take into account whether a residency in a New York City studio provided by the Doosan Yonkang Foundation would be helpful for selected artists, so we put it into the screening criteria along with excellence of works. We also discussed about whether it would be beneficial to allow the recipients of other awards to win a Doosan Yonkang Arts Award, and concluded that potential nominees should not be penalized for any previous awards. The three judges (Kim Sung-won, Jung Yunah, and Lim Geun-jun) all had in common the wish to see better works from award recipients in the future. Three of us had no significant differences in our appraisals, and through sequential discussions, decided the awardees without difficulty. The recipients are two women and one man: Chang Ji-a (b. 1973), Kim Ji-eun (b. 1977), and Kim Sang-don (b. 1973). (Given that all the recipients of the first and second years were women confirms that male artists have made a poor showing since 2010.) Kim Ji-eun received support and encouragement that this award would serve as an opportunity to start her creation in earnest (going beyond a graduate school portfolio). For Chang Ji-a, there were opinions that this would offer her a new chance to leap forward. Comments were made on Kim Sang-don that a New York residency would hopefully be a positive stimulus to Kim whose work has recently seemed to stall. Chang Ji-a and Kim Sang-don are 40-years-old, around the same age as the winners of the first and second years (Kim Si-yeon, Park Mee-na, Koo Dong-hee, Park Joo-yeon, and Rhee Jaye), while Kim Ji-eun is 36-years-old, relatively about the same age with Lee So-jung (34), the youngest recipient from the previous year. (Doosan Yonkang Arts Awards target artists aged 40 and under.) As seen recently in major group exhibitions in Korea, it is confirmed again that artists born between the late 1970s and early 1980s belatedly distinguish themselves after the bubble burst of the arts market in 2008, and the 3rd Doosan Yonkang Arts Awards also show such a tendency. Among the final nominees, three artists can be classified as newly emerged rookies: Kim Ji-eun born in 1977 and other two artists born in 1979 and 1981 respectively. This reconfirms that, as time passes, a quiet and not sudden shift in generations is underway. What rising artists sorely need is always a decent chance to meet a new challenge. The Doosan Yonkang Arts Awards for Fine Art promises artists prize money, an opportunity for residency in a New York City studio, and a solo exhibition (along with supporting funds). If an exhibition at the New York Doosan Gallery means closing the residency in a New York studio, a show at Seoul Doosan Gallery, which recently expands the exhibition space, will signify a challenge to make public new achievements. We have heard that Seoul Doosan Gallery will change from holding solo exhibitions to a single group exhibition with all three award winners, but we hope that Doosan will continue to keep the solo exhibition system which imposes a constructive burden on the artists. We hope the three recipients of the 3rd Doosan Yonkang Arts Awards in Fine Art will present remarkable works at their solo exhibitions for award-winning artists scheduled in 2014. We offer you our wholehearted congratulations.

_Sungwon Kim, Geunjun Lim and Yunah Jung