The resignation comes after the removal of a painting by the artist Hong Seong-dam from the exhibition Sweet Dew at the Gwangju Museum of Art (8 August-9 November) celebrating 20 years of the Biennial, following pressure by the Gwangju city government, which has invested $2.4m in this year’s event, The Art Newspaper reports.
The painting depicts South Korean president Park Geun-hye being confronted by the families of children who died in the nation’s April ferry disaster, in which hundreds of lives were lost. In response to the censorship, a group of Japanese artists from Okinawa also removed their works from the show and the exhibition’s head curator Yoon Beom-mo resigned.
Lee Yong-woo’s resignation will become effective after the opening of the main Biennial exhibition Burning Down the House on 5 September.
21 August 2014
