Dongdaemun Design Plaza brightens Seoul

With the Seoul Light Festival underway at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the Seoul Design Foundation hosted a forum Friday, discussing how art should evolve in the era of artificial intelligence. The state-funded design foundation is hosting the festival from Friday to Jan. 3, turning the outer walls of the DDP into a gigantic media facade. The projected media art is themed “Seoul Haemong,” inspired by the past, present and future of Seoul City and South Korea. “The DDP has

Dec. 20, 2019

[Herald Interview] Photographer dedicates sunset years to int’l competitions

In his sunset years, a civil engineer-turned-photographer has been making his name at international photography competitions. Over the past five years, professional photographer Ryu Shin-woo, 76, has won 2,420 acceptances for 352 works in 466 competitions across 73 countries,  sponsored by the Federation Internationale de l’Art Photographique, also known as the International Federation of Photographic Art.  The federation, a nongovernmental organization recognized by UNESCO,

Dec. 18, 2019

Exhibition looks at overarching presence of virtual reality

In a video introducing Niantic’s mobile game Pokemon Go, which uses augmented reality, Pikachu is running around in an open-air cafe, past real people. The uplifting yellow creature even plays hide-and-seek using real-world objects like flower pots. “Watching the video, I thought this real world has become an image -- in an allegorical sense. It was somewhat scary too when I thought about how the real world and virtual reality overlap with one another, the one with Pikachu and the ot

Dec. 15, 2019

MMCA exhibition highlights Korean video artists, Paik Nam-june and beyond

Paik Nam-june is inarguably the foremost video artist in South Korea. But who else can we talk about when it comes to video art, and what are the distinctive characteristics that other Korean video artists have developed? The exhibition “Korean Video Art from 1970s to 1990s: Time Image Apparatus” at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea’s Gwacheon venue in Gyeonggi Province chronicles video art in Korea between the 1970s and the 1990s, presenting some 130 wo

Dec. 11, 2019

Wael Shawky reconstructs Arab history through art

Imagine a Middle Eastern man walking bare feet on the streets of Mecca in the 1970s, who soon takes out his keys and drives away in a Cadillac. This interesting juxtaposition of a Bedouin city and the influx of Western influence was a common scene in Mecca at the time, when Wael Shawky was a child in the city. His experiences in Mecca have influenced him a great deal, said Shawky, whose artistic efforts are mainly invested in grappling with the history of Arab world to better understand its

Dec. 8, 2019

Exhibition brings Middle East closer to Korea

Middle Eastern countries often face negative stereotypes among Koreans. But Seoul Museum of Art’s “Gohyang: Home” offers a closer look at nations in the region, beyond the stereotypes shaped and fueled by negative press.The exhibition consists of works of art that address social, political and historical issues, such as the history of the Crusades, the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel, the war in Afghanistan, myths of Arab nations and the lives of ordinary people,

Dec. 5, 2019

Exhibit takes place around discarded power plant

An exhibit is underway at an outdoor space near retired thermal power plants in Mapo-gu, Seoul, which await to be transformed into a cultural complex. The event, titled “Kraftwerk 2019: Homo Symbious,” features sculptural works that address ecological and environmental issues. Forty-four local artists are participating in the exhibition, showing works made of a wide range of materials, including wood, stone, earth, iron, copper, stainless steel, synthetic resins, fiber reinforced pla

Dec. 4, 2019

US video art pioneer’s show opens in Korea

Suwon IPark Museum of Art is holding a solo exhibition dedicated to Gary Hill, a US-based artist considered one of the pioneers of video art, titled “Gary Hill: Momentombs.” The exhibition in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, features 24 works from the 1970s to date.Hill gained recognition in the art scene in the 1970s and 1980s, when he began to produce video installations that incorporated sound and text. The artist, who often explores issues connected with the physicality of language, the

Dec. 2, 2019

Rhii Jew-yo wins MMCA Korea Artist Prize 2019

Rhii Jew-yo was announced the winner of the Korea Artist Prize 2019 Thursday evening. Rhii was one of four finalists for the prize, organized by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. The others included Kim A-young, Park Hye-soo and Hong Young-in.  Rhii won for her work “Love Your Depot,” a storage system that consists of a broadcasting station, media lab, and a five-story tower.Rhii’s work is an alternative art storage space conceived after the artist

Nov. 29, 2019

[Eye Plus] Beauty of silver threads

Ipsa is the traditional Korean art of inlaying thin threads of silver or gold onto harder surfaces such as iron to create exquisite decorative patterns or images. The craft reached its pinnacle in the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) and expanded under the ensuing Joseon Kingdom, when it was widely used for everyday objects such as incense burners, metal jars and candlesticks. In ipsa art, everything is done by hand. From preparing thin wires to hammering them onto the finely chiseled and engraved surf

Nov. 29, 2019

Colors and more colors: new social media-friendly exhibition opens in Seoul

As the art scene becomes more social media-friendly, a new exhibition -- literally full of colors -- opened Friday, openly welcoming Instagram users. Sfactory, a culture complex in the hip Seongsu-dong neighborhood in eastern Seoul, has organized an exhibition inspired by colors, titled “Museum of Colors,” targeting 20- and 30-somethings.Influential artists on social media are featured, in the exhibition, including Russian photographer Kristina Makeeva, Korean artist Yoon Sae-rom, Sc

Nov. 28, 2019

PKM Gallery’s exhibition brings together 6 internationally renowned artists

PKM Gallery is holding an exhibition where visitors can glimpse works by artists who have drawn a great deal of attention in the contemporary art world.PKM Gallery’s exhibition “Eternal Now,” co-curated by Park Kyung-mee of PKM Gallery and Saskia Draxler of Galerie Nagel Draxler in Cologne, Germany, features works by six artists: Hito Steyerl, Francis Alys, Kader Attia, Koo Jeong-a, Lee Bul and Martha Rosler. The works on display show each artist’s unique take on differen

Nov. 26, 2019

Arko show highlights midcareer artists

Arko Art Center is holding its 2019 Mid-Career Artist Exhibition, which comprises two separate solo exhibitions dedicated to Bae Jong-heon and Heo Ku-young. The annual art show started in 2000 as a way to offer South Korea’s midcareer artists financial support and an exhibition venue.Bae, 50, and Heo, 53, are showing works that feature everyday scenes and everyday objects. Bae works with discarded materials, structures and urban landscapes, often connecting his works to social issues.

Nov. 26, 2019

Pompeii's grand baths unveiled, with hidden tragedy

POMPEII (AFP) -- Magnificent thermal baths designed to be the jewel of Pompeii but destroyed by a volcanic eruption before they could be completed opened to visitors for the first time on Monday after a painstaking excavation.Marble pillars and blocks lie where they were abandoned when the city was submerged by a pyroclastic flow from Mount Vesuvius in the 79 AD disaster.But excavators also found a victim of the disaster, the skeleton of a child who had sought shelter there in vain.The architect

Nov. 26, 2019

[ASEAN-Korea summit] Fashion event embraces ASEAN diversity

BUSAN -- Celebrating the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, a fashion show introducing the latest fashion trends of ASEAN member states was held Monday. The Busan Metropolitan Government organized the ROK-ASEAN Fashion Week from Friday to Monday, holding events ranging from fashion shows to networking sessions. The highlight of the four-day event was Monday’s ASEAN Fashion Show, during which designers from ASEAN countries presented their creations on the runway. Featured designers includ

Nov. 25, 2019

[ASEAN-Korea summit] K-beauty connects Korea, ASEAN

BUSAN -- Reflecting the popularity of K-beauty trend and high demand for K-beauty products around the world, K-beauty Festival is being held at BEXCO during the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit.K-beauty has been an influential trend across the world, propelled by the high popularity of K-pop and Korean dramas. Korean cosmetics companies have been exporting a wide range of skincare and makeup products. Total exports reached $6.89 billion last year, according to the Korea Cosmetic Association. The f

Nov. 25, 2019

Kim Whan-ki’s blue dot painting sets record for Korean painters

South Korean abstract master Kim Whan-ki’s major dot painting set a record for Korean painters at an auction in Hong Kong.“Universe 5-IV-71 #200” by the late Kim sold for HK$88 million ($11.2 million) at a Christie’s auction at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday. It is the first Korean painting to fetch more than 10 billion won ($8.48 million) at an auction, topping Kim’s previous record-setter, “3-II-72 #220,” a painting of

Nov. 24, 2019

[ASEAN-Korea summit] Handicrafts of Mekong on display in Busan

ASEAN Culture House under the Korea Foundation is to host mini fair “Bazaar Mekong: Handicraft and Design Goods,” introducing the art and design culture of the five Mekong countries.The exhibition opens Friday at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Culture House’s Community Hall in eastern Busan. It is to showcase handicraft wares from five countries along the Mekong River, Southeast Asia’s longest: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.According to the org

Nov. 24, 2019

Painting by S. Korean abstract master Kim Whan-ki fetches 13.2b won in Hong Kong

HONG KONG -- A major dot painting by late South Korean abstract master Kim Whan-ki sold for HK$88 million, or 13.2 billion won ($11.2 million), in a Christie's auction in Hong Kong on Saturday.  It was the first time that a South Korean painting had fetched more than 10 billion won in an auction. The major work, "05-IV-71 #200," titled "Universe," was part of a collection that began being auctioned Saturday. Measuring more than 2.5 meters in height and width, "Unive

Nov. 24, 2019

National maritime museum opens on west coast

A national maritime museum has opened in Taean-gun, South Chungcheong Province, opening up its entire exhibition space and its maritime artifact collection to the public. The Taean Maritime Museum partially opened its exhibition space in December last year and introduced some of its collection. About 60,000 visitors have come to the museum to date, the institution reported.  The museum has recently finished works to open its other exhibition halls, in which the museum will present its 30,00

Nov. 18, 2019