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Soojung Hyun PH. D.
My academic background is in history, studio art, and finally, I completed my doctoral degree in art history. My dissertation title was "A Study on the Appropriation of Androgyny and its Characteristics in Marcel Duchamp's Work at Chosun University in South Korea." During my course of study, I researched the metaphysical concept of “Androgyny in Art history” as a point of comparison in relation to the works of Marcel Duchamp. The focus of my research included sacred art in India and China, medieval alchemy, Symbolist paintings of the 19th century, and Surrealist works of the 20th century.
During the process of writing the dissertation, I moved to the United States in 2007. The important metaphysical concept of “androgyny” in the Eastern sense is a “reconciliation of opposites,” such as the Asian spiritual balance and harmony, Yin and Yang, coming from Taoism in the 6th century BCE.
I received my Ph.D. in February 2010. Since then, I have expanded my interests to embrace the intersections between Eastern and Western cultures, thus pursuing a dialogue between contemporary and classical traditions emanating from both cultures. Further research has opened my awareness and understanding of the global art scene as I began to develop my career as a curator, program organizer, lecturer, and researcher in the New York arena.
Upon moving to New York, I have taught a course entitled “Survey of East Asian Arts” at Manhattanville College and a second course, titled, “20th Century Asian Art. At the same school, I have coordinated a course entitled “US-South Korean Contemporary Art and Design” at the Parsons School of Design for three semesters in 2010-2011. I have also been invited to lecture on “The Korean American artist movement in the 1990s in New York,” as a guest lecturer in the Reward Seminars at the Graduate Center, CUNY in 2013.
In addition, my accomplishments as a scholarly-oriented curator have been fruitful in many areas. In 2006 I was selected as a curator for the prestigious Gwangju Biennale and was also invited as a juror for the Tehran Contemporary Sculpture Biennale (2007). I have curated a number of exhibitions in the New York area. In 2011, I organized a well-recognized show, “Breathing,” which focused on highlights in the New York art world. The twelve artists came from diverse backgrounds and experiences. I included artists from France, Japan, China, Argentina, Korea, and the U.S.A. with the intention of finding a vibrant cross-cultural dialogue. In addition, I continually organized a show for Asian Women Artists in New York.

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