As part of the annual East West Calligraphy programme, the Museo Correr presents CARATTERI (Characters), an exhibition that brings South Korea and the United States into dialogue through writing and the alphabetic sign. Curated by Monica Viero and Monica Dengo, the show features works by Kim Doo Kyung, Kang Byung-In, Thomas Ingmire and Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., alongside historical documents from the Correr Museum Library.
The exhibition explores phonetic writing as a universal language: the Hangeul alphabet for the Korean artists and the Latin alphabet for the American ones. The works highlight writing as both gesture and communication – an artistic expression that also conveys meaning and thought.
From the meditative calligraphy of Kim Doo Kyung and Kang Byung-In, who reinterpret the harmony between heaven, humanity and earth through the Korean script, to Thomas Ingmire’s visual compositions, where text and image merge in poetic rhythm. The journey culminates with Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., printer and activist, who transforms printed words into instruments of freedom and social justice through his vividly coloured typographic posters.
A documentary section connects two key historical traditions: the Hangeul alphabet, promulgated in 1446, and European humanistic script, the ancestor of the typefaces created by Griffo and Manuzio. Both inventions arose from a shared pursuit of clarity and accessibility of knowledge.
CARATTERI is an encounter between gesture and print, art and message – a journey through the forms of the written sign, where writing becomes a bridge between cultures and across time.
