GYEONGGI MoMA | Irony & Idealism

As an interior architecture photographer Based in Seoul, I was commissioned by Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art to document the exhibition Irony & Idealism for its official catalogue. The exhibition took place at the Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art in Ansan and at Kunsthalle Münster, bringing together South Korean and German artists in a shared curatorial framework.

Irony & Idealism explored how artists from both countries reflect on their own histories, cultural idioms and social structures. At the same time, the exhibition examined the clichés that surround these identities and questioned how artistic expression develops within and beyond national narratives. Both Korea and Germany carry the legacy of division, and this historical condition formed an underlying thread throughout the show.

From My perspective, the task went beyond documenting individual artworks. The spatial dialogue between works, walls and visitors became central. Exhibition design, light, material and movement shaped how the pieces interacted with one another. My focus was to record not only the art itself, but also the atmosphere of the exhibition as it unfolded within the museum’s architecture.

The show questioned whether a global artistic language truly exists, or whether expression remains grounded in specific social and historical contexts. This tension between universality and specificity echoed through the installation.

The exhibition ran from September 28 to December 3, 2017. Through careful documentation, the photographic work preserves how Irony & Idealism occupied space, connected perspectives and reflected on the idea of divided nations in a contemporary setting.

PHOTOGRAPHER

NILS CLAUSS

CLIENT

GYEONGGI MUSEUM OF MODERN ART