This fall, the entire city of Changwon will transform into an open-air sculpture museum. Over 200 sculptures will be displayed at various locations, including Seongsan Art Hall, the historic Jinhae Station, Masan Fish Market, Changwon House, and the Changwon History and Folklore Museum.
The 2026 Changwon Sculpture Biennale, the only sculpture biennale in South Korea, will take place from September 30 to November 15, under the theme 'Resonance.' This year, 74 teams of artists from 14 countries, totaling 81 participants, will showcase their work.
Korean co-artistic director Cho Hye-jung and Chinese co-artistic director Zhang Jun are leading the event. Kim Sa-sook, acting CEO of the Changwon Cultural Foundation, stated at a press conference on July 14 in Seoul, "This is the first time we have invited an overseas director as a co-artistic director in the 16-year history of the event, aiming to elevate it to a global biennale based on international networks from Germany and China."
A key feature of this biennale is its expansion across the entire city. The exhibition will be centered around Seongsan Art Hall and will span four regions connecting Changwon, Masan, and Jinhae, including the Changwon House, Changwon History and Folklore Museum, Jinhae Station, and Masan Fish Market. While over 60% of the works will be concentrated at Seongsan Art Hall, each region will feature at least 10 artists, ensuring that visitors can experience a complete exhibition even if they visit just one location.
Co-artistic director Cho Hye-jung emphasized the significance of sculpture in the age of artificial intelligence, stating, "Sculpture is the oldest and slowest form of art. It does not get swept away by the rapid pace of a world where everything appears and disappears with a single click." He added, "When people stand before a sculpture, they pause, measure its weight, examine its surface and materials, and walk around it, allowing the power of relationship-building that sculpture has long possessed to be reactivated."
Cho will explore the concept of 'Sculpture Before Sculpture' in a special exhibition, investigating the sense of form that existed in human life before sculpture became a modern art genre. Through the works of major East Asian artists such as Kim Yoon-shin, Sim Moon-seop, Park Seok-won, Zhu Ming, Zhan Wang, and Mother Stone, the exhibition will reinterpret primitive sculptural actions like carving, hollowing, and stacking.
Zhang Jun will present the 'Changwon Sculpture Atlas,' a digital archive that connects this year's exhibited works with the public sculptures from past Changwon Sculpture Biennales, complete with location information. The archive is designed to help viewers reinterpret the works within the historical, geographical, and cultural context of Changwon, with some artists creating new pieces based on specific keywords. Visitors will be able to explore the artworks, locations, and keywords related to Changwon's history and culture through mobile QR codes.
Notably, the biennale emphasizes the regional identity of Changwon. The industrial city of Changwon, the historically significant Masan, and the naval city of Jinhae became one city through administrative integration in 2010, yet cultural and emotional distances remain among the three areas.
Hwang In, chair of the Changwon Sculpture Biennale Promotion Committee, remarked, "The southern coast line from Tongyeong to Changwon and Jinhae has produced many of Korea's leading contemporary sculptors, such as Mun Shin, Park Seok-won, and Kim Young-won. I hope this year's biennale, which approaches the essence of sculpture as a slow and heavy process, will create an opportunity for the people of Changwon, Masan, and Jinhae to resonate with one another.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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