Internationally recognized artist Yang Hae-gue on Wednesday was honored with the Republic of Korea Culture and Arts Award at a ceremony at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Seoul branch. The award is annually given by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, with a presidential citation. Yang could not attend the ceremony, so a family member accepted it on her behalf. The...

Folding screens are a traditional form of art that was popular in Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries. The paneled artworks featuring paintings, patterns and calligraphy were used to decorate rooms, to highlight the presence of a powerful figure or as a backdrop for various ceremonies and rituals. The Amorepacific Museum of Art’s “Beyond Folding Screens” is a large-scale exhibition that brings t...

An elephant pulls a cart loaded with devices like television sets, radios, telephones and gramophone speakers while a Buddha statue -- sitting on the elephant under an umbrella -- leads the way ahead. These once dominant means of communication are featured in artist Nam June Paik’s work “Elephant Cart.” It is one of the works on display as part of “Art Commons, Nam June Paik,” which kicked off a...

MMCA Director Mari pledges inspection of MMCA‘s collection

‘Meditation in a Landscape’ celebrates museum‘s fifth anniversary

A solo exhibition of works by Kim Seong-heui, an artist and oriental painting professor at Seoul National University, will open Friday at Chosun Ilbo Gallery in Seoul. Titled “Constellation Link-Transparent Human,” the exhibition will comprise some 30 works by the artist. Kim uses traditional mulberry paper for her paintings, putting together three to four pieces of mulberry paper before she pa...

‘A lot of what I do is celebrating the future that did not happen’

Seoul National University Museum of Art hosts group exhibition ‘Minimal Variation’

Korean artist Lee Bul’s retrospective exhibition kicked off Friday at Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin. The artist’s 2015-16 work “Willing to Be Vulnerable,” a 17-meter-long sculpture that looks like a Hindenburg airship or Zeppelin, is included in the 127 works that span over some 30 years and are on show. “Willing to Be Vulnerable” was first shown at the 20th Biennale of Sydney in 2016. “Scale of ...

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, kicked off the second edition of Asia Focus on Friday at its Seoul branch. This year’s Asia Focus -- a program launched last year to support artists in Asia -- runs through next Wednesday. Asia Focus forms part of MMCA Performing Arts, a yearlong program dedicated to interdisciplinary performances. This year, the museum co-commissioned f...

The fall has arrived and so has the season for strolling. In downtown Seoul, the area near central palace Gyeongbokgung is the favorite haunt of locals and tourists alike looking to enjoy fine culture and dining alike. On either side of the massive Gwanghwamun Square in front of the palace are the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History and Sejong Center. The two large cultural institutio...

Bringing together master artisans and young craftsmen, Yeol, the Korean Heritage Preservation Society, is holding an exhibition of modern craft art inspired by traditional craftsmanship. “Crafts of Fire” at the exhibition space Yeol Bukchonga in the neighborhood of Bukchon, central Seoul, running until Oct. 18, is a culmination of a yearlong project by iron casting master Kim Jong-hoon and young...

Hermes Foundation Missulsang winner mines her training as pianist, maps out steps in creating a stage performance

What happens inside closed museums and art galleries at night has always evoked curiosity, with the Hollywood film series “Night at the Museum” highlighting such interest. Visitors will get to experience many national and public art spaces at night as part of Korea Art Week, a nationwide annual art event held to promote “Art in Life.” The art week runs from Oct. 2 to 14, with night events at mu...

Seoul is promoting itself as Asia’s leading design hub with a series of design-related events. Hosted by the Seoul Design Foundation, Seoul Design Cloud, a mega design event comprising Seoul Design Week, Seoul Upcycling Week and Seoul Fashion Week -- different from the biannual fashion event -- kicked off Monday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. “With Dongdaemun Design Plaza as the center, Seoul’s de...