Collections are vital assets for museums, offering insight into the artistic and historical trends of a given era. Making their collections seen and accessible is a crucial role of museums, one that is fundamentally bound up with their very function. The Cabinet of Curiosities in 16th-century Europe, regarded as the origin of the museum, displayed rare and exotic collections, providing audiences with novel experiences and opportunities for intellectual exploration. With the rise of the modern nation-state, the definition of ‘public’ expanded, and works of art that had once been privately owned became accessible to wider audiences, ultimately evolving into the modern museum.
The exhibition Highlights of MMCA Global Art Collection presents around 40 carefully selected works from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA)’s global art collection, curated to invite fresh encounters and intellectual discovery, much like the Cabinet of Curiosities once did. Visitors can appreciate 19th-century European art from MMCA Lee Kun-hee Collection, acquired by the museum in 2021, alongside a wide range of global works that helped expand the horizons of modern art.
