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INTENSE PROXIMITIES
Contempory Art From Korea 1960's - Today
16 May - 30 June 2025
Curated by KYUNG-HWAN YEO and MAYA EL KHALIL
In today’s connected world, cultures exist in close proximity, shaped by the push and pull of local identities and global forces. This rapid pace of change threatens dilution, yet artists sustain distinctive perspectives, layering contemporary and traditional regional contexts with wider currents of history and emergent futures. With sections co-curated with over 40 UAE-based artists, Intense Proximities develops the landmark exhibition Portrait of a Nation: Beyond Narrativesfrom a self-reflexive portrait into an encounter with the complex world picture of contemporary art. Bringing together three generations of UAEbased artists in Seoul, the exhibition draws upon ideas of adjacency, porosity, and immediacy, exploring how artists navigate the tensions between local and global, and the challenges of representing the complex, layered, mixed and crowded realities of a globalised world.
Dec 2025 - Feb 2026
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Public Program "Layered Dialogues"
Location: Multipurpose space within the exhibition area, Gallery S, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi
Friday May 16th
5pm - 6pm
Curatorial discussion: Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits
Kyunghwan Yeo, Co-curator
Maya El Khalil, Co-curator
Byungjun Kwon, artist
Choi Goen, artist
6.15pm - 7.15pm
Exhibition design as a medium
Exhibition designers Formafantasma’s Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin in conversation with co-curators Kyunghwan Yeo & Maya El Khalil
Saturday May 17th
5.30-7.30pm
Film screening: Nam June Paik: Moon Is The Oldest TV, 2023
Featuring a captivating showcase of his work, this documentary profiles the career of Nam June Paik and his pioneering contributions to video art. Directed by Amanda Kim.
Thursday May 29th
Body as a medium
To be announced
Thursday, June 12th
Identity as a medium
To be announced
Friday June 20th
Space as a medium
To be announced