Chairman Kim Byung-joo of MBK Strengthens Korean Art Exhibitions... Donation to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Kim Byung-joo, Chairman of MBK Partners, donated to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (hereinafter Met) again this year following last year.

Especially this year, marking the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Korean Gallery at Met, he joined the ‘Korean Art Initiative’ alongside the Korea Foundation and Samsung Foundation of Culture to strengthen Korean art exhibitions and educational programs, adding greater significance.

Chairman Kim Byung-joo’s donation will be used to purchase Korean art pieces to be collected and exhibited in Met’s Korean Gallery. As an elected board member of Met, Kim also donated 10 million USD last year to support the renovation and reopening of Met’s Modern and Contemporary Art galleries.

As part of the ‘Korean Art Initiative,’ Met established a dedicated Korean art curatorship fund named the ‘Korea Foundation - Samsung Foundation of Culture Korean Art Curatorship.’ Eleanor Suh Hyun (Korean name Hyun Su-a), the current Korean art curator at Met, was appointed as the ‘first fund curator’ and will actively serve in this role. Additionally, joint scholarships and educational programs for Korean art will be established.

Max Hollein, CEO, stated, “Thanks to the donation from Chairman Kim Byung-joo and his wife Park Kyung-ah, the museum’s Korean art collection will be further strengthened. We also express our gratitude to the Korea Foundation and Samsung Foundation of Culture, longtime supporters of Met, and this donation will play a significant role in presenting Korean artworks to global audiences.”

Chairman Kim Byung-joo said, “The Korean art pieces housed at Met represent a world-class collection, and I am honored to contribute to showcasing these Korean artworks to global audiences.”

Met has been operating the Korean Gallery since 1998 with support from the Korea Foundation and the Lee Kun-hee Korean Art Fund of the Samsung Foundation of Culture. The collection includes Goryeo Dynasty celadon, Buddhist paintings, Joseon Dynasty ceramics, and lacquer crafts, and regularly hosts exhibitions of Korean artworks through domestic and international loans.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Korean Gallery’s opening, Met will hold an exhibition titled ‘Lineages: Korean Art at The Met’ from November 7 this year to October 20 next year. The exhibition introduces works spanning from 12th-13th century celadon to early 2000s contemporary cyborg sculptures by Korean artists across four closely related themes: Line, People, Place, and Object.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.