SPACE Jun 2024 (No. 679)
CAC members. From left Jung Sungkyu, Chung Dahyoung, Kim Heejung / Image courtesy of CAC
CAC (Curating Architecture Collective) has been selected as the art director for the 2025 Venice Biennale Korean Pavilion. CAC is an architecture-focused curator collective comprised of Chung Dahyoung (curator, MMCA), Kim Heejung (curator, Seoul Culture Headquarters), and Jung Sungkyu (co-principal, TACT), who have taken part in projects such as BARE (co-principals, Jeon Jinhong, Choi Yunhee)’s ‘Assembly of Air’ (2021), ‘Homely Talk, Cho Byoungsoo×Choi Wook’ (2021), as either designer or advisors. They are currently operating the CAC Reading Room, hosting seminars related to architecture and design, and disseminate their work primarily through publications.
The ‘House of Trees’, which CAC will present at the Venice Biennale exhibition, focuses on a Korean Pavilion that will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. It looks critically at the architectural meaning derived from the establishment process of the Korean Pavilion, the relationships with other countries’ pavilions, and the sustainability of the Biennale. Participating artists will include Kim Hyunjong (principal, ATELIER KHJ), Park Heechan (principal, Studio Heech), Lee Dami (principal, FLORA AND FAUNA), who also took part in ‘Young Korean Artists 2023: Annotating the Museum’ (2023) which is planned by Chung Dahyoung, and Young Yena (co-princiapl, Plastique Fantastique). The word ‘tree’ of the title refers to the medium, which reveals the multi-level relationships of the Korean Pavilion. The site conditions created by tree roots extending deep underground defined the unique layout and form of the Korean Pavilion, while also contributing to its status as a transparent and open space. Venice, known as the ‘Upside Down Forest’ used to strengthen the foundations of its buildings by driving wooden posts into the past tidal foreshores. Based on this perspective, the ‘House of Trees’, weaving in the architecture of the Korean Pavilion, the city of Venice, and ecology, will be open at Giardini di Castello, Venice, from May 10 to Nov. 23, 2025.
