The AHL Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Korean artists (President: Sook Nyu Lee Kim), is pleased to announce the recipients of the 23rd Annual AHL-T&W Foundation Contemporary Visual Art Awards. This year’s honorees are Gi (Ginny) Huo, Jaewook Lee, and Sangwoo Yoo. Each artist will receive a $5,000 exhibition support grant and participate in a group exhibition at the AHL Foundation Gallery in October 2026.

Established in 2003, the Contemporary Visual Art Awards is one of the AHL Foundation’s flagship programs, recognizing and supporting outstanding contemporary visual artists of Korean heritage based in the United States. Since 2016, the awards have been generously supported by the T&W Foundation, founded by Thomas Park Clement and Wonsook Kim.

This year’s jurors included Sarah Han, Victoria Sung, and Ian Wallace.

Gi (Ginny) Huo is an artist and educator thinking on the legacies of religious systems and its geopolitical impact. Huo works across mediums in sculpture, video, artists books, drawing, photography, and printmaking and has exhibited in places such as Hesse Flatow Gallery, DOOSAN Gallery (Seoul), Princeton University, Miriam Gallery, SK Gallery, CANADA Gallery, The Drawing Center, Socrates Sculpture Park, Baxter St CCNY, Franconia Sculpture Park and The Smithsonian Archives of American Art. 

Huo has been awarded residencies and fellowships such as the MacDowell Fellowship, ISCP Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Residency, Princeton Arts Fellowship, Here and There THAT Residency, Center for Photography – Woodstock, Robert Blackburn Printshop SIP Fellowship, Smack Mellon, and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.

Jaewook Lee is a new media artist-scholar and the founder and creative director of Jaewook Lee Studio, an independent art-game studio developing experimental games, playable artworks, and immersive media. Working with game engines, artificial intelligence, environmental simulation, and interactive systems, Lee approaches play as a critical artistic method for examining ecological, cultural, and social questions.

His solo exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei. His work has been presented at international exhibitions and festivals including the CURRENTS Art + Technology Festival, the New Media Caucus Symposium Exhibition, the Royal College of Art’s Immersive Acts Symposium, and Duke University. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art and the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts.

Lee’s scholarly work includes publication in Leonardo, the MIT Press journal of art, science, and technology. He is currently developing The Future of Art Is Playable, a book manuscript examining video games and playable systems as emerging forms of contemporary art. He received a BFA from Korea National University of Arts and MFAs from Carnegie Mellon University and the School of Visual Arts. He is currently Associate Professor of New Media Art at Northern Arizona University.

Sangwoo Yoo is a Chicago-based artist whose sculptures and installations investigate ephemerality, material memory, and ecological cycles. He holds an MFA in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA in Environmental Sculpture from the University of Seoul. Yoo has been awarded fellowships and residencies at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Watermill Center, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, MASS MoCA, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Loghaven, The Luminary, and Vermont Studio Center. His honors include Liu Shiming Artist Grants, Breakout Artist by Newcity (Chicago), Kumho Young Artist Award, Eldon Danhausen Fellowship, Creative Young Artists Award from Kimchongyung Museum, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts Award, and Grand Prize at Hoguk Art Exhibition. His work has been exhibited at Kumho Museum of Art, Hyde Park Art Center, Comfort Station, 6018 North, Chicago Artists Coalition, Bridgeport Art Center, and United Nations Peace Memorial Hall.

AHL Foundation President Sook Nyu Lee Kim stated:

“Now in its 23rd year, the AHL-T&W Foundation Contemporary Visual Art Awards continues to celebrate and support artists of Korean heritage whose work expands the boundaries of contemporary art. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to this year’s recipients and my sincere appreciation to our jurors for their thoughtful selection. We look forward to presenting their work in this year’s exhibition and welcoming them into the AHL Foundation alumni community. We hope the Foundation will continue to be a steadfast supporter throughout each artist’s creative journey.”

The 2026 AHL-T&W Foundation Contemporary Visual Art Awards Ceremony will take place during the AHL Foundation Benefit Gala and Awards Ceremony in November 2026.

For inquiries, please contact: info@ahlfoundation.org

(국문)

알재단, 2026 제23회 AHL-T&W Foundation Contemporary Visual Art Awards 수상자 발표

비영리 예술지원기관 알재단(AHL Foundation, 회장 김숙녀)은 제23회 AHL-T&W Foundation Contemporary Visual Art Awards 수상자로 허지은(Gi (Ginny) Huo), 이재욱(Jaewook Lee), 유상우(Sangwoo Yoo)를 선정했다고 발표했다. 수상자들에게는 각각 5,000달러의 전시 지원금이 수여되며, 2026년 10월 알재단 갤러리에서 개최되는 수상전에 참여하게 된다.

2003년 시작된 AHL-T&W Foundation Contemporary Visual Art Awards는 미국에서 활동하는 한국계 동시대 시각예술가를 발굴하고 지원하는 알재단의 대표 프로그램이다. 2016년부터는 토마스 박 클레멘트(Thomas Park Clement)와 김원숙(Wonsook Kim)이 설립한 T&W Foundation의 후원으로 운영되고 있다.

올해 심사는 Sarah Han, Victoria Sung, Ian Wallace가 맡았다.

허지은 (Gi (Ginny) Huo)

허지은은 종교 체계의 유산과 그것이 지정학에 미친 영향을 탐구하는 작가이자 교육자이다. 조각, 비디오, 아티스트 북, 드로잉, 사진, 판화 등 다양한 매체를 넘나들며 작업하고 있으며, Hesse Flatow Gallery, DOOSAN Gallery(서울), Princeton University, Miriam Gallery, SK Gallery, CANADA Gallery, The Drawing Center, Socrates Sculpture Park, Baxter St CCNY, Franconia Sculpture Park, Smithsonian Archives of American Art 등에서 작품을 선보였다.

또한 허지은은 MacDowell Fellowship, ISCP Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Residency, Princeton Arts Fellowship, Here and There THAT Residency, Center for Photography at Woodstock, Robert Blackburn Printshop SIP Fellowship, Smack Mellon, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture 등 다수의 레지던시와 펠로십에 선정되었다.

이재욱 (Jaewook Lee)

이재욱은 뉴미디어 아티스트이자 연구자로, 독립 아트게임 스튜디오인 Jaewook Lee Studio의 설립자이자 크리에이티브 디렉터이다. 게임 엔진, 인공지능, 환경 시뮬레이션, 인터랙티브 시스템을 활용해 놀이(play)를 생태, 문화, 사회적 문제를 탐구하는 예술적 방법론으로 발전시키고 있다.

타이베이 현대미술관(Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei)에서 개인전을 개최했으며, CURRENTS Art + Technology Festival, New Media Caucus Symposium Exhibition, Royal College of Art, Duke University 등 국제 전시와 심포지엄에 참여했다. 작품은 경기도미술관과 요르단 국립미술관 등에 소장되어 있으며, MIT Press의 학술지 Leonardo에 연구를 발표하는 등 예술과 기술을 넘나드는 활동을 이어가고 있다. 한국예술종합학교를 졸업하고 Carnegie Mellon University와 School of Visual Arts에서 MFA를 취득했으며, 현재 Northern Arizona University 뉴미디어아트 부교수로 재직 중이다.

유상우 (Sangwoo Yoo)

유상우는 시카고를 기반으로 활동하는 작가로, 조각과 설치 작업을 통해 덧없음(ephemerality), 물질의 기억(material memory), 그리고 생태적 순환(ecological cycles)을 탐구한다. 서울시립대학교 환경조각과를 졸업하고, 시카고예술대학교(School of the Art Institute of Chicago)에서 조각 전공 MFA를 취득했다.

그는 Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Watermill Center, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, MASS MoCA, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Loghaven, The Luminary, Vermont Studio Center 등에서 펠로십과 레지던시 프로그램에 선정되었다. 또한 Liu Shiming Artist Grants, Newcity (시카고) 선정 Breakout Artist, 금호영아티스트상(Kumho Young Artist Award), Eldon Danhausen Fellowship, 김종영미술관 창작지원상(Creative Young Artists Award), Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts Award, 대한민국 호국미술대전 대상 등을 수상했다. 그의 작품은 금호미술관, Hyde Park Art Center, Comfort Station, 6018 North, Chicago Artists Coalition, Bridgeport Art Center, 유엔평화기념관(United Nations Peace Memorial Hall) 등에서 전시되었다.

알재단 김숙녀 회장은 “23회를 맞이한 AHL-T&W Foundation Contemporary Visual Art Awards는 지난 20여 년간 한국계 동시대 미술가들의 창작 활동을 꾸준히 지원해 왔다. 올해 수상한 세 분의 작가에게 진심으로 축하를 전하며, 세심하고 공정한 심사를 진행해 주신 Sarah Han, Victoria Sung, Ian Wallace 심사위원께도 깊이 감사드린다. 앞으로도 알재단은 수상 작가들이 국내외 미술계에서 지속적으로 성장하고 활발히 교류할 수 있도록 든든한 동반자가 되기를 바란다.”라고 밝혔다.

2026 AHL-T&W Foundation Contemporary Visual Art Awards 시상식은 2026년 11월 7일에 진행될 예정이다.

문의: info@ahlfoundation.org