Art Center Nabi, led by director Noh So-young following her divorce from SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, is set to reopen in a new location in Sagandong, leaving its previous site in the SK Group headquarters in Seoul's Jongno district.
The center announced on June 2 that it will kick off its reopening with Han Jin-soo's solo exhibition, 'A Pregnant Pause,' starting on June 11.
This exhibition marks the conclusion of 26 years of Art Center Nabi's journey and serves as the first project in a new chapter in Sagandong.
In a press release, Noh stated, "This moment, which ties together 26 years, is a time for the next chapter to grow from within, still yet to be fully revealed. The 'embryonic vitality' found in Han Jin-soo's works, which explore the slow fermentation of time between machines and nature, resonates deeply with this moment of reopening."
'A Pregnant Pause' challenges the current trend of immediate creation and results. Han proposes a time of 'pause,' where something is growing internally yet remains undecided.
The museum noted, "This 'time of embryonic vitality' coincides with the moment Art Center Nabi is starting anew in the new space. 'A Pregnant Pause' is not merely an exhibition announcing the reopening; it is also a space where the artist's language expresses the texture of time that is being cultivated just before Art Center Nabi embarks on its next chapter."
The new venue operates as an independent environment, utilizing the entire building as an art space. With Art Center Nabi leading the color and operation of the space, it lays the groundwork for rethinking digital media not just as a technical medium but as a medium that breathes with space, time, and the body. This will serve as a cultural platform where technology, nature, art, and urban environments intersect in the future.
Founded in 2000, Art Center Nabi is Korea's first media art institution, exploring the intersection of art and technology for the past 26 years. Since its opening project in collaboration with pioneers of Korean media art like Nam June Paik and Park Hyun-ki, it has provided a venue for domestic and international media artists and experts from various fields, including engineering, design, and architecture. The center has also solidified its international standing by hosting the International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA) in Seoul in 2019 and 2025.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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