MacGuffin: Five Korean Artists and Five Writers from Art Omi

Five emerging Korean artists — Dongho Kang, Goyoson, Jongwan Jang, Jenny Jisun Kim, and Ian Ha — are paired with five acclaimed writers and Art Omi alumni: ‘Pemi Aguda, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Edward Gauvin, Nadia Owusu, and Jordan Kisner. About Today, images and texts are produced and consumed in closer proximity than ever before, yet we rarely pause to consider the fundamentally different logics through which each medium operates. This exhibition begins with a simple question: What becomes possible when image and text meet as equal forms? Working drafts of newly commissioned texts by the participating writers in response to the artists’ works will be on view throughout the exhibition, exposing the often painstaking process of responding to a visual experience via written language. The resulting texts may or may not convey the artist’s intention, which is exactly the point. In film, a MacGuffin sets the story in motion, but does not determine its outcome. Here, sculptures and paintings serve as MacGuffins — offering a jumping-off point for interpretation or response, but no path to a conclusion. MacGuffin is co-curated by Hayoung Chung and DW Gibson, who directed the Art Omi: Writers residency program from 2005 to 2025. Read more Toggle Sculpture Multi-disciplinary Painting Mixed media Installation