By Zeng Chenggang, translated by Hu Yuduo

“China-Korea Contemporary Sculpture Exchange Exhibition” as a permanent international exchange activity is co-sponsored by China Sculpture Institute and Korean Sculptor’s Association, and has been successfully held five times. The exhibition is shuttling between China and Korea each year. I think this means the cooperation of the two organizations is moving towards a more thorough and robust stage. At the same time, this series of events also witnesses the continuous process of exploration in the field of sculpture by the two countries’ artists, as well as more in-depth exchanges.

Common historical memory and similar cultural traditions are the mind link for the two countries’ communication, and also provide a strong spiritual motivation and cultural support for the friendly cooperation between China and Korea in the field of sculpture. From the works in the exhibition can be seen a strong sense of mission and responsibility of the two countries’ artists on oriental art and on their own country’s sculpture in the context of globalization, can be seen the national character the oriental sculpture presents, and can be seen the contemporary strength and bearing the oriental sculpture emphasizes. And because of the joint research and exploration, sculptural art, a direct and emotional way of expression, becomes an important carrier to explore contemporary art. How to make sculpture become the appealing art form in this generation is the common mission that Chinese and Korean artists should continuously explore.

As usual, the achievements obtained by the two countries’ academic exchanges are worthy of our attention and summarizing experiences. With active practices, researches and discussions in the development of sculpture by Chinese and Korean sculptors, we expect that “China-Korea Contemporary Sculpture Exchange Exhibition” will eventually provide Asian art a text rich in contemporary sculpture aesthetics, and will be a much-told story in artistic exchanges of the two countries with the force of sculpture. This is an attractive dream and what we hope for.