Art Institute of Chicago
Arts of Korea Gallery
Image © Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, USA
2024
The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) is one of the USA’s oldest and largest art museums. Founded in 1879, it has subsequently expanded and today is second in size only to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Its collections are global in scope and comprise thousands of paintings, sculpture, books, manuscripts and prints. Among its many jewels are famous works by Hockney, Picasso, Van Gogh, O’Keeffe, Cezanne, Monet, Warhol and many more. The Museum provides a rich and invigoratingly eclectic experience for visitors, but behind the scenes it is also actively involved in conservation programs, with a department dedicated to research and restoration.
AIC is also renowned for its Asian art. The Korean art collection alone spans more than 2,000 years and includes works by luminaries such as Kim Eung-won (aka Soho), famous for his often large-scale screen paintings of orchids, and Park Seo-Bo, a key figure in the Korean abstract art movement, and a pioneer of the style of monochrome painting known as Dansaekhwa. Works by contemporary Korean artists often channel not only cultural artistic heritage and intertwined religious faith, but also Korea’s turbulent history of colonialism, civil war and military rule.
Image © Art Institute of Chicago
The Korean art collection is also noted for its exquisite ceramics and distinctive green-glazed celadon stonewares. Among the finest examples of celadon is a vase dating from the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), in the late 12th century. This piece is a fine example of the painstaking sanggam decorating technique, and depicts a scene of children playing in a bamboo garden, with a symbolic motif of cranes flying through clouds, representing a wish for fertility and longevity.
In 2024, AIC opened its first gallery exclusively dedicated to Korean art. The new space was designed to accommodate a wider range of objects on display than previous installations, presenting visitors with an epic journey through the history of Korean art.
Ceramics, textiles and paintings from the Three Kingdoms period (about 57 BCE–676 CE) to contemporary works are thoughtfully displayed to offer insights into how these artworks reflect Korean culture and their relationship with the artistic traditions of neighbouring China and Japan.
Image © Art Institute of Chicago
After collaborating with the AIC in 2012 on their Jaharis Galleries, Goppion was approached again by the museum in 2024 to create a suite of new display cases for this new gallery, to host rotating displays from the Korean collection. AIC and curator Yeonsoo Chee spearheaded the project, directing Goppion and Chicago-based designers Future Firm in a collaborative design-to-cost. Seven wall-standing display cases and two freestanding cases were provided, all made to exacting conservation specifications, with passive silica gel installations and flexibly-designed interiors to make the delicate task of rotating exhibits easier.
The project was delivered on quite a tight timescale: commencing in January 2024, the display cases were all fully assembled at Goppion’s workshop in Italy, and then shipped and installed ready-assembled for inauguration in November. Funding for the Gallery of Korean Art was generously provided by the National Museum of Korea.
