Artist Talk - Public Event
Artist Ryoo Jaebee will visit us from South Korea and will unveil the unique artistic vision of both she and Jang Kyung-guk. She will expand on the profound influence of Korean culture in their works and discuss how they are actively shaping Korea’s art world. A special poetry reading by Jungkang Kim will conclude this special gallery talk.
This event will be moderated by Jooyeon Rhee. Jooyeon Rhee is Associate Professor of Asian Studies and Comparative Literature who specializes in modern Korean literature and culture. Her main research deals with Korean popular literature with particular emphasis on transnational literary exchanges and interactions. Her first book, The Novel in Transition: Gender and Literature in Early Colonial Korea (Cornell University Press, 2019), investigates the transnational feature of modern Korean novels at the intersections of nation, gender, and colonialism. Currently, Jooyeon is working on two book-length projects: one on cultural imaginations of crime and deviance manifested in Korean crime and detective fiction of colonial Korea and the other on the representation of food and taste at the intersections of gender and sexuality in contemporary Korean literature and cinema. Her other research interests include diasporic art and literature, historical memory, and visual history of women.
THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
During the months of March and April 2025, the Bellefonte Art Museum will install an exhibition of Contemporary Korean Art titled “A Letter from Korea”. This exhibition is a gateway to the unique artistic vision of Korean contemporary art and a journey through Korea’s culture. We aim to enrich our community and bring unity through cultural awareness. We believe cultural awareness matters for a multitude of reasons that impact nearly every aspect of our society – including succeeding in our careers, navigating everyday interactions, and communicating effectively and empathetically with others.
"A Letter from Korea" is an exhibition that brings the current state of Korean contemporary art to the local community. We do this by inviting two artists, Ryoo Jaebee and Jang Kyung-guk, who are actively shaping Korea's art scene, to the Bellefonte Art Museum. This exhibition, showcasing about 20 paintings, delves into the lives and works of Ryoo and Jang, unveiling their unique artistic vision that shapes their world of work and the profound influence of Korean culture in their works.
Exhibition sponsored in part by: Bruce Truitt and Kate Bennett-Truitt, Hyeseon Kim, Rhee Joo Yeon, Sukyoung Lee, Donald Hahn, Jonghee Song, Amy and Michael Koll, Andy and Heliane Sieg, and The State College Framing Co. & Gallery
