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| Architect duo stpmj's 'The Surface' is installed at the Sculpture Garden of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon. Courtesy of MMCA |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The sloped grass field in the Sculpture Garden of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, has gained a new installation, providing a refreshing experience placed between the museum's natural surroundings and visitors.
The new raised and leveled plain design was created by architect duo stpmj and was selected to be part of the MMCA Gwacheon Project. Inaugurated this year, the MMCA Gwacheon Project aims to invigorate the museum's outdoor space and reinforce the Gwacheon branch's characteristics.
Located in Seoul Grand Park along with the Seoul Grand Park Zoo and Seoul Land amusement park, MMCA Gwacheon focuses on family-friendly exhibitions and education programs with its outdoor Sculpture Garden.
MMCA director Youn Bum-mo said the site-specific Sculpture Garden will embrace seasonal changes from autumn to winter and spring.
"It will provide the experience of an artistic shelter where visitors can commune with nature. With the pandemic posing challenges in our daily lives, the MMCA hopes this project will help citizens overcome the coronavirus blues," Youn said.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's project is themed "breath," "rest" and "joy."
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| Stpmj's 'The Surface' is installed at the Sculpture Garden of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon. Courtesy of MMCA |
Stpmj created the new installation by placing some 700 white disks on poles on the grass field, inspired by the museum's surroundings ― a combination of an artificially arranged landscape nearby and the natural scenery of Cheonggye Mountain and Maebong Mountain in the distance.
The poles and 1-meter-radius disks are made of flexible materials and are placed at different heights, allowing visitors to push them aside, providing a sensory experience in which people interact with the artwork as if walking through a forest or wading in water.
Stpmj is an architect duo consisting of Lee Seung-teak and Lim Mi-jung. Based in Seoul and New York, the duo pursues a vision of "Provocative Realism," in which fundamental everyday ideas are interpreted from new perspectives and applied to various architectural structures.
Concept sketches and architectural models of runner-up designs are on view at the Special Exhibition Space on the first floor of the museum. This year, studios Diagonal Thoughts, CoRe Architects and Yong Ju Lee Architecture took part in the contest.
The outdoor installation is available for view through May 30, 2021.
The museum is also offering the "MMCA Artistic Playground" through June 27, 2021, which brings visitors a step closer to nature through art. Along the pine tree trail, two site-specific artworks are unveiled.
Artist Kim Do-hee collaborated with landscape architect Choi Jae-hyeog for "The Field of Artists-Sangoranggil (mountain furrows)." Using Korea's indigenous soil ― including red loess from Hadong, red clay from Boryeong, sand from Nakdong River and dirt from Gwacheon ― Kim recreates mountains and furrows outside the museum and Choi adds plants to the furrows.
Kim Joo-hyun created "Three Pillars," a geometric outdoor structure which provides a strong visual contrast to the surrounding trees.
