After success at home, Songzio Homme plans to head overseas

Designer Song Zio plans to go international this year, promoting his flagship brand Songzio Homme in and out of Korea.　Songzio Homme -- a contemporary menswear collection brand -- is currently looking into distribution channels, aiming to supply its products to the Chinese market by the second half of this year. The specific details have not been set yet. Photo from Songzio Homme’s 2019 spring-summer collection (Songzio) Designer Song Zio (left) with model-actor Bae Jung-nam at backstage of Seou

Jan. 31, 2019

Kukje Gallery holds solo exhibition of Min Joung-ki

Kukje Gallery on Tuesday began a solo exhibition of painter Min Joung-ki, a local artist who regained attention after South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un posed for pictures in front of his painting “Mount Bukhan” during their summit in April last year.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands in front of Min Joun-ki’s landscape painting “Mount Bukhan” in the Peach House at Panmunjom during the inter-Korean summit in Ap

Jan. 30, 2019

Hyundai Motor to fund Tate research program

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s leading carmaker, announced Friday that it would provide financial support for Tate’s new research center dedicated to promoting non-Western art.Starting in January, the Hyundai Motor-supported research platform will foster arts research and art acquisitions with a focus on regions other than the so-called Western countries. The program will run for six years. (Hyundai Motor)Lee Sook-kyung, former senior curator at Tate Research Centre: Asia, will head the program. F

Jan. 25, 2019

Doosan Gallery‘s exhibition of young curators seeks news ways to introduce artworks

Doosan Gallery is holding an exhibition curated by participants of its eighth Doosan Curator Workshop -- Yoo Eun-soon , Yu Ji-won and Lee Jin. The exhibition “YourSearch, On-demand Research Service” by the three curators introduces 23 works by Ghim Da-hwan Lee Dong-geun, Kim Woong-hyun, Lee Yoon-seo and Jung Eu-gene.An installation view of Doosan Gallery’s exhibition “YourSearch, On-demand Research Service” (Doosan Gallery)The exhibition touts itself as a research service platform designed to pr

Jan. 24, 2019

[Exclusive] JR to unveil new, bigger Louvre project

French photographer and artist JR will unveil a new project at the Louvre Museum in Paris in the last week of March.In Seoul for his first solo photo exhibition at Galerie Perrotin in downtown Seoul, JR told The Korea Herald on Thursday that the upcoming project, which will be much larger in scale than his previous project at the Louvre, will be completed in collaboration with visitors to the site. The artist and the visitors will be painting in the Louvre’s plaza to create one gigantic black-an

Jan. 17, 2019

With lights, mythical creatures come to life

Korean artists Kwon Ha-youn and Jin Si-yon have installed their media artworks at a pavilion outside the Times Square building in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.Under the title of “Lunar Fantasy with Ancient Auspicious Animals,” the two Korean artists have presented their own digital renderings of eight mythical creatures from the Chinese tradition of Feng Shui, which are believed to bring luck, prosperity and wealth.  A pavillion in front of Times Square building in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (Gana Art)“

Jan. 17, 2019

MMCA announces 2019 exhibition calendar

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art on Wednesday announced its exhibition schedule for 2019. Park Wi-jin, managing director and acting director of the MMCA, announced the museum’s calendar for this year, as the director post remains vacant. Twenty-three exhibitions will be held between the network of four art museums, which now includes the recently opened Cheongju branch. Some 10 billion won ($8.9 million) of the total annual budget of 63.2 billion won, a 4 percent increase from

Jan. 17, 2019

Artist Kim Joon wins 18th SongEun Art Award

Artist Kim Joon has been selected as the winner of the 18th SongEun Art Award, SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation announced Friday.Kim has been focusing on introducing installations that present sounds and photographs he collected on-site. Through his site-specific soundscape project, Kim has been attempting to explore the history of locations and to make landscapes audible. The artist is best known for his work delving into the ecology of Nanji, a landfill-turned-park in Seoul. Kim gradua

Jan. 14, 2019

Christie’s defends sale of Korean gallery’s Francis Bacon painting

Christie’s has defended itself in regards to claims that it sold a Korean gallery’s painting for less than it was worth as part of a sweetheart deal, saying it acted to settle a loan it had made reasonable efforts to settle. Korean gallery One and J filed on Jan. 2 for a preliminary injunction with the New York County Supreme Court over the former’s sale of a painting by Francis Bacon in a private deal at what the Korean gallery claimed was a “bargain price.”The two parties had remained silent s

Jan. 11, 2019

French artist Xavier Veilhan holds solo exhibition

French artist Xavier Veilhan is holding a solo exhibition at 313 Art Project’s newly opened branch in Seongbuk-dong, as well as the gallery’s Cheongdam space. Veilhan rose to international acclaim with his 2009 exhibition at Versailles, and participated in the French Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale.Xavier Veilhan speaks at a press conference held at 313 Art Project's newly opened gallery in Seongbuk-dong on Thursday. On the backdrop is one of his "Ghost Landscapes." (313 Art Project)In Kore

Jan. 11, 2019

Exhibition ‘Matters of Women’ shows female artists’ takes on lives of women

Roh Seung-bok’s pigment prints titled “1366 Project” are lined up on the wall. The warm toned prints that employ red, purple and pink are abstract at first sight. In fact, the prints are close-up images of bruises of female victims of domestic violence, and 1366 is the phone number of the domestic violence hotline.The print is one of some 60 works by 11 women artists on show at the Seoul National University Museum of Art exhibition featuring their takes on the lives of women in Korea.　“Pale Nigh

Jan. 7, 2019

Renowned fashion designer, actor Ha dies of cancer

Ha Yong-su, a renowned fashion designer and actor, died of liver cancer early Saturday morning, sources have said. He was 69.His memorial altar is expected to be set up at Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Sunday, when his family members are expected to arrive in Korea from the United States. (File photo)Ha made his debut as an actor in 1969. Since then, he has appeared in more than a dozen movies, including "Heavenly Homecoming to Stars" in 1974 and "First Love a

Jan. 5, 2019

[Herald interview] Changing lives, one building at a time

Taking the steep, narrow staircase to meet architect Seung Hyo-sang, or Seung H-Sang as his business card says, one almost fears for one’s life, tottering down the steps in heels with one hand against the wall for support in the semidarkness.Upon reaching the floor, there is a sigh of relief and a sense of salvation as one follows the sound of choral music to Seung’s office. It is a few days before Christmas, and there is something of a sacred quality to the space, crammed with bookcases and a l

Jan. 3, 2019

MMCA opens its fourth venue in Cheongju

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art has opened its fourth branch in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, following the Gwacheon branch that opened in 1986, the Deoksugung branch in 1998 and the Seoul branch in 2013. The Cheongju branch is housed in a five-story building that was a tobacco factory built in 1946. The factory produced an annual average of some 10 billion cigarettes until it ceased operations in 2004. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s fourth branch

Dec. 26, 2018

Marcel Duchamp’s legacy visits Korea

Art critic Arthur Danto once said, “Duchamp did not merely raise the question ‘What is Art?’ but rather ‘Why is something a work of art when something exactly like it is not?’”The paradigm shift that Duchamp introduced to the art world with his “readymade” objects -- that an everyday object with little or no modification could become a work of art through the creative process by the artist and spectator -- was a concept that shattered the modern conception of art as the production of artistic “g

Dec. 24, 2018

SongEun Art Award nominees announced

SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation on Friday kicked off an exhibition of its four finalists for the 18th SongEun Art Award at SongEung Art Space in Seoul. Kim Joon, Park Kyung-ryul, Lee Ue-sung and Chun Myung-eun, also known as Eun Chun, were shortlisted for the award following two rounds of reviews. Paintings and sculptures by artist Park Kyung-ryul (SongEun Art Space) From left: Kim Joon, Park Kyung-ryul, Lee Ue-sung and Chun Myung-eun attend a press conference held at SongEun Art Space on Fr

Dec. 23, 2018

‘Winter Coffee Club’ asks what coffee means to us

More than a century has passed already since Koreans began to consume coffee near the close of the 19th century. Throughout the years, it has surely established its position. In downtown areas, there are cafes one after another. According to the industry, the average Korean drinks 500 cups of coffee in a year. Ongoing exhibition “Winter Coffee Club,” hosted by the Korea Crafts & Design Foundation under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, reflects on the changing history of coffee cultur

Dec. 23, 2018

Culture Ministry withheld top marks for biennales in 2018

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Thursday released its evaluations of government-supported art biennales that took place this year. Among the eight art biennales reviewed by the ministry, none received top marks on a scale from 1 to 5. Three biennales got a grade of 2, and the rest were rated 3 or 4.  (Yonhap)This was the first year in which no biennale received a 1 since the ministry launched its annual evaluations in 2004.Of the three biennales that received 2s, the Busan Biennal

Dec. 21, 2018

Artist Jun So-jung wins 18th Hermes Foundation Missulsang

Korean artist Jun So-jung has been selected as the winner of the 18th Hermes Foundation Missulsang, the foundation announced Wednesday.Jun made her name with narrative-focused works of art using various mediums, including photography, installations and video. Her works often include real-life stories of individuals she comes across, framing them in relation to other existing texts and stage works. Artist Jun So-jung (Atelier Hermes)Jun won the Noon Award at the Gwangju Biennale in 2016 the grand

Dec. 19, 2018

Celebrate holidays with panache at museums, galleries

It is that time of the year. “All I Want for Christmas” plays seemingly on repeat and Santa decorations are in every window. The year has almost come to an end. For those tired of the same old alcohol-infused yearend gatherings, museums and galleries are offering a more cultured alternative to celebrating the year that was.Why not grab a beer next to Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain?” An 8-meter tall “Bearbrick” -- the collectible Japanese toy -- might give you a hug. Or just bring some art home by pu

Dec. 17, 2018