Japanese shadow painting master delivers hope, delight in Seoul

Fairy tale illustrations of shadow and light are on exhibition at “Fantasy of Light and Shadow” being held at the Hangaram Arts Center Museum in southern Seoul, offering visitors an extraordinary experience. This art genre, “Kage-e,” which literally means shadow painting in Japanese, was pioneered by Japanese artist Seiji Fujishiro, who began honing the craft since 1948. The exhibition is the Kage-e master’s largest solo exhibition in Seoul, introducing some 160

Aug. 3, 2021

Asia’s largest contemporary urban art fair to kick off in Seoul

Urban Break 2021 -- Asia’s largest art fair focused on contemporary urban art -- will kick off Thursday at Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul showcasing a variety of urban artworks and programs that feature VR. Some 300 artists from around the world are presenting about 25,000 creations at this year’s annual fair. Following the VIP opening Wednesday, the event will open to the general public Thursday and run through Sunday. Participating artists include a New York-based doodle a

July 28, 2021

[Feature] 'Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall' to come, but details still unknown

When online reservations for the exhibitions of art donated by the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee at the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea opened last week, the slots filled up quickly, reflecting the public’s keen interest in the single-largest art donation ever in Korea. The family of the late Lee donated more than 23,000 works of art in April that Lee had collected, most of them going to the National Museum of Korea and Na

July 28, 2021

Sculptor Kwon Jin-kyu’s works donated to SeMA

A large quantity of pioneering sculptor Kwon Jin-kyu’s artworks has been donated to the Seoul Museum of Art after the artist’s bereaved family had struggled for decades to find a place to house his sculptures. The donated 141 artworks consist of the 96 sculptures, 10 paintings, six drawings and 29 sketch books, as well as five artworks produced by Kwon’s wife, Kasai Tomo. Kwon’s family has founded Kwon Jin Kyu Commemoration Foundation to manage the artist’s work

July 23, 2021

Kansong Art and Culture Foundation to tokenize national treasure as NFT

Kansong Art and Culture Foundation plans to tokenize Hunminjeongeum Haerye, National Treasure No. 70, in an effort to raise funds to operate the foundation. If realized as an NFT, the book will become the first national treasure to be traded on a blockchain platform. The 33-page book from the Joseon era details the promulgation of Hangeul, the Korean writing system, and usages of the letters.   An NFT, or nonfungible token, is a unit of data on the blockchain that represents ownership

July 22, 2021

Late Samsung Chairman's vast art trove open for public view

Two national museums simultaneously kicked off exhibitions highlighting works from late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee's massive art collection Wednesday, allowing the public to take a peek at Korean masterpieces of various eras and formats. "A Great Cultural Legacy: Masterpieces from the Bequest of the Late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee" and "Lee Kun-hee Collection: Masterpieces of Korean Art," taking place respectively at the National Museum of Korea (NMK) and the Seoul galle

July 21, 2021

Gems of Korean art through the ages unveiled at highly anticipated exhibitions of Lee family donation

Some of the artworks from the collection of highly prized art donated by the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee and his family in late April were unveiled to the press Tuesday in a special exhibition preview. A total of 135 masterpieces, including a number of National Treasures, are being shown in exhibitions at two state-run museums in Seoul from Wednesday. “A Great Cultural Legacy: Masterpieces from the Bequest of the Late Samsung Chairman Lee, Kun-hee” will be held at th

July 20, 2021

Masterpieces of Korean modern art on show at MMCA

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea is showcasing a total of 54 modern art masterpieces in its Gallery 1. The masterpieces by 34 artists were selected based on their significance to modern art, according to the museum. Among the 1,488 artworks donated to the MMCA, around 60 percent are Korean modern artworks. Although what constitutes as Korea’s modern art period still remains controversial, the exhibition focuses on modern artists who were born in the 1930s or ear

July 20, 2021

LEE KUN-HEE'S BEQUEST EXHIBITION

Members of the press look at the 19th century “Ten-panel Folding Screen with the Ten Longevity Symbols” during a press preview of the exhibition “A Great Cultural Legacy: Masterpieces from the Bequest of the Late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee” at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

July 20, 2021

NMK exhibition shows creme de la creme of ‘Lee Kun-hee collection’

  The title “A Great Cultural Legacy: Masterpieces from the Bequest of the Late Samsung Chairman Lee, Kun-hee” is befitting of the massive trove on display at the National Museum of Korea which opens to the public Wednesday. The collection by the late business tycoon appears to show he had much appetite for amassing art as he had for growing his conglomerate group. “We selected items that have artistic and historic value for this exhibition,” NMK curator Lee So

July 20, 2021

Three teams win 2021 Korea Young Architect Award

This year’s Korea Young Architect Awards went to architects Choi Yeon-yung and Lee See-woong of Apparat-C Architects, Cho Yoon-hee of Gubo Architects and Kang Woo-hyun and Kang Young-jin of Archihood WxY. A total of 49 teams were considered for the annual prize, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said in announcing the winners on Tuesday. The award program was organized jointly by the Korea Architects Institute, Korean Institute of Architects and the Korean Institute of Female

July 20, 2021

MMCA Cheongju turns into a space for humans, animals and plants

A large magnolia tree stands in front of MMCA Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province. The tree became diseased in 2019 and will be cut down soon as it has now died. Artist Han Seok-hyun revitalized the tree, transforming it into a work of art. He covered the dead tree with wood scraps -- cut timber and broken furniture, which ultimately come from other dead trees -- and added plants such as geraniums, trumpet creepers and even green onions in the spaces in this new covering.  The Cheo

July 19, 2021

Nam June Paik Art Center remembers legacy of video art pioneer

Nam June Paik Art Center, the only art center dedicated to the video art pioneer, is showcasing two special exhibitions to help understand Paik’s philosophy when he was part of Fluxus -- an avant-garde art movement in the 1950s that challenged conventional art -- and how his legacy lives on today. The art center, located in Gyeonggi Province, kicked off “Open Codes: Networked Commons” this month in collaboration with ZKM Karlsruhe, a media art museum in Germany. The exhibitio

July 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Govt. plan on 'Lee Kun-hee museum' draws debate on location, purpose

The government's plan to build a museum dedicated to late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee's massive art collection has stirred a debate among art circles as well as local governments that were vying to attract the facility. Last week, the culture ministry unveiled a plan to build the museum by 2026 or 2027 at two potential locations in central Seoul -- in Jongno and Yongsan wards. The announcement came roughly two months after Lee's family announced the donation of around 23,000 art pieces, includ

July 14, 2021

[Herald Interview] Sculptor Yi Hwan-kwon casts light on vanity of things with shadows

Sculptor Yi Hwan-kwon’s works easily catch people’s attention. His signature sculptures, made using 3D scanning techniques, create distorted illusions that provoke curiosity and are readily recognized by many people. While he has gained much popularity with his iconic sculptures, it hit him one day that he was finding it difficult to put his works into words. He then became skeptical about his own work. “Over the past several years, I strived to search for something. I don

July 13, 2021

New committee to be formed to select Korean Pavilion curator for Venice Biennale 2022

The Arts Council Korea has announced that a new committee will be formed for the selection of the curator of the Korean Pavilion for the upcoming Venice Biennale after the previous committee resigned en masse over controversy surrounding alleged conflicts of interest in the screening process. "The selection committee members have decided to quit their positions in pursuit of fairness. It seems they felt pressured about the issue,” an official from the council told The Korea Herald

July 12, 2021

V&A Museum to highlight Korean wave

Responding to the worldwide popularity of Korean pop culture, Britain’s Victoria and Albert Museum will hold an exhibition titled “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” as part of its program for 2022-23, the museum announced Monday. According to V&A Museum, the exhibition seeks to showcase the global phenomenon from the rise of hallyu in the late 1990s to its popularity across the globe. “Hallyu, The Korean Wave” will spotlight hallyu’s making, dynamism, vitality an

July 12, 2021

Aesthetics of Korean art, from ancient to contemporary times, explored in a single exhibition

Art lovers may wonder how Korea’s ancient culture influenced its modern and contemporary artists. The exhibition “Dynamic & Alive Korean Art” is an effort to answer that question by delving into Korean aesthetics. The exhibition from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, brings together 35 cultural assets and some 130 artworks from the modern and contemporary era. Presenting modern works along with Korean cultural artifacts from the National Museum

July 10, 2021

Seoul-based a’strict to debut in New York with nature-themed immersive artwork

  Seoul-based media artist unit a’strict will debut in New York, showcasing nature-themed immersive media art in Times Square, starting July 16. The media artist unit has expanded digital technology to the art sphere since it was formed last year. The group will present two works “Whale #2” and “Waterfall-NYC,” which will explore the theme of summer and provide chances to enjoy natural scenery even as the pandemic has restricted people from traveling in the su

July 9, 2021

Seoul city hosts fashion show to address climate change

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Green Seoul Citizens Committee jointly hosted a fashion show behind closed doors Friday to underscore the importance of climate variability at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul. This year’s fashion show was held without an audience under the slogan “Dealing with climate change with citizens.” Related videos will be available on YouTube. “I would like to thank the citizens and companies for participating in making clean

July 9, 2021