The MAO Museo d’Arte Orientale in Turin, in collaboration with the Gwangju Museum of Art presents Adapted Sceneries, a special exhibition featuring Korean landscape painting (sansuhwa) and works related to the May 18th Democratization Movement, as part of the 2025 Cultural City Gwangju Project.
Since 2015, the Gwangju Museum of Art has been introducing the art of Gwangju and Jeollanam-do to international audiences in partnership with various overseas institutions under the concept of "Cultural City Gwangju”. Adapted Sceneries presents a significant opportunity to introduce the artistic tradition and history of Gwangju and Jeollanam-do to the Italian public through collaboration with the MAO of Turin — a city renowned for its cultural vibrancy and, like Gwangju, known as the City of Art, where culture is a key element of its identity.
Set up on the second floor of the permanent collections and in the exhibition area known as t-space on the ground floor, Adapted Sceneries offers a comprehensive look at Namjonghwa (Southern School painting), a key genre in Korean art history, as well as contemporary interpretations of Korean painting. First, the works of Heo Ryeon, Heo Baekryeon, and Heo Hangmyeon will highlight the aesthetic sensibility of traditional Korean painting. Secondly, the works of Lee Sunbok, Heo Dalyong, and Hong Sungmin will showcase how contemporary Korean painters in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do explore the interplay between tradition and modern artistic expression.
