Korean artist Jun So-jung has been selected as the winner of the 18th Hermes Foundation Missulsang, the foundation announced Wednesday.

Jun made her name with narrative-focused works of art using various mediums, including photography, installations and video. Her works often include real-life stories of individuals she comes across, framing them in relation to other existing texts and stage works.

Jun won the Noon Award at the Gwangju Biennale in 2016 the grand prize at the 14th SongEun Art Award in 2014.

“Artist Jun So-jung displays convincing body of work by combining all senses (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.) and corporeal performative nature, based on a vast and profound thought process,” the four-member jury said in announcing the award. It also noted that Jun’s commitment to social issues is balanced with aesthetic language.

As the award winner, Jun will be invited to participate in a four-month residency program at Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris and give a solo exhibition at Atelier Hermes in Seoul in August 2020. 

The jury of the 18th Hermes Foundation Missulsang included: Kang Seung-wan, chief curator at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art; Lim Min-ouk, 2006 Hermes Korea Missulsang winner and a professor at Korea National University of Arts; Catherine Tsekenis, director of Fondation d’Entreprise Hermes; and Vietnamese French artist Thu-Van Tran, a finalist for the 2018 Marcel Duchamp Prize.

The Hermes Foundation Missulsang was launched as an annual award to recognize emerging Korean artists in 2000. Since its 16th edition, it has been awarded every two years.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)