Christie's, Seoul Auction bring together prominent Korean works in Seoul

Christie’s and Seoul Auction will put up prominent Korean works for auction, unveiling them to the public during the preview session in February at the auctioneers’ spaces in Seoul. The British auctioneer will present a white porcelain moon jar from the 18th century Joseon era, owned by a Japanese collector. The porcelain is expected to sell for between $1 million to $2 million. A moon jar is known as the representative type of porcelain from the Joseon era, made from two separate pi

Feb. 16, 2023

London's V&A Museum offers digital Paik Nam-june experience

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London will present “Meet again The More, The Better,” an interactive display that walks visitors through how Korea-born video art pioneer Paik Nam-June created the giant video tower “The More, The Better." The interactive display will be offered at a drop-in event held from Wednesday to Friday at the museum as well as on the official website of the museum. The interactive artwork “Meet again The More, The Better” was created

Feb. 15, 2023

Whistle gallery intrigues audiences with works that push boundaries

What is interesting about art is that a piece can be interpreted in a multitude of different ways that depend on the viewer. Whistle, an emerging gallery in Yongsan, Seoul, has opened the show “Approximation,” presenting three Korean female artists -- sculptor Hwang Sue-yon, painter Kim Ji-pyeong and painter Yang Ja-zoo -- whose works provoke interesting ideas. “As viewers, we have our own sense of interpreting artworks, which never perfectly aligns with the artist’s idea

Feb. 14, 2023

Korea Foundation helps introduce Korean contemporary artists to world

Korean contemporary art will be showcased at 10 overseas institutes in six countries, promoted by the Korea Foundation, including some in Europe and US that will present Korean contemporary art for the first time. The Guggenheim Museum in New York will shed light on South Korean experimental art from the 1960s to the 1970s in September in collaboration with the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. Known as “silheom misul” in Korea, experimental art started to emer

Feb. 12, 2023

Genderless goes mainstream in luxury fashion sector

Singer-songwriter Harry Styles on Sunday wowed the audience of the 2023 Grammy Awards red carpet event when he appeared with his gender-fluid, rainbow harlequin-pattern jumpsuit adorned with Swarovski crystals. Gender fluid, genderless, agender, unisex -- these words have all been sweeping the fashion sector. South Korean fashion icons and TV stars, although not as daring as Styles, are gradually embracing this latest fashion concept as well, widely impacting the local retail scene. Actor Lee Ju

Feb. 8, 2023

Gwangju Biennale announces artists, commissioned works to be unveiled in April

The 14th Gwangju Biennale, scheduled to begin April 17 under the theme of "Soft and weak like water," will be joined by 79 artists from across the world. More than 40 works were commissioned for Asia's oldest contemporary art biennale. The 94-day biennale will take place at the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall in Gwangju, the main exhibition space of the biennale, as well as at venues throughout the city including Gwangju National Museum, Horanggasy Artpolygon, Mugaksa and Artsp

Feb. 8, 2023

Avant-garde artist Lee Seung-taek gets spotlight in New York at 90

Canal Projects, a nonprofit contemporary art institution in New York, has opened the show “Seung-Taek Lee: Things Unstable" to celebrate the pioneering South Korean avant-garde artist. Lee has been a representative figure in Korean avant-garde art since the 1960s, contributing to the introduction of conceptual art to the local art scene decades ago. The Canal Projects show presents 17 works by Lee, focusing on the artist’s signature concepts of “non-material,” &ldquo

Feb. 7, 2023

Rivers flow freely between two Koreas at Pace Gallery

American artist Maya Lin wears many hats. She is an installation artist, sculptor, architect and sometimes an environmental activist. Visually beautiful, her works engage in dialogue and hold value in nature. Recent works by the globally acclaimed artist were unveiled at Pace Gallery in Seoul's “Nature Knows No Boundaries” exhibition, running through March 11, inviting viewers to reflect on the history of the Korean Peninsula as well as how climate change is eroding the globe. F

Feb. 6, 2023

Korea Foundation looks for print artists to join Chiang Mai residency program

Korea Foundation and the ASEAN Foundation are inviting five contemporary Korean artists to take part in the inaugural "Konnect ASEAN – Chiang Mai Print Residency for Korean artists," which will take place in northern Thailand's Chiang Mai. The monthlong program that will start in July is to provide access to print studios, public programs and other promotional activities for print artists while they work in the city. The residency program will promote collaboration and netwo

Feb. 4, 2023

German artist Anne Imhof delivers hope for youth at Coex K-Pop Square every night

South Korea’s landmark illuminated billboard in southern Seoul will present “Youth” by acclaimed German artist Anne Imhof every day at 8:23 p.m. throughout the month, inspiring young people to hold out hope despite frustrating situations. The presentation is scheduled to kick off at 8:23 p.m. on Friday at Coex K-Pop Square in Gangnam, Seoul, which is the largest light-emitting diode billboard in the country. The work will also be shown at 8:23 p.m. in Hong Kong, London, Berlin,

Feb. 3, 2023

Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's dark humor unfolds at Leeum Museum of Art

Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan -- one of the most controversial contemporary artists -- is having his first show in Korea at Leeum Museum of Art. His humorous yet satirical works have grabbed attention globally, and his recent conceptual art involving a banana titled “Comedian,” on show at Leeum, is sure to provoke questions about the contemporary art scene such as what constitutes art and what conceptual art is. “Comedian,” a banana duct-taped to a wall, stirred up c

Jan. 30, 2023

Takashi Murakami's 'kawaii' art reflects human yearning for religion

BUSAN -- Japanese leading contemporary artist Takashi Murakami showed up in South Korea’s southern port city of Busan for his first exhibition in the country in 10 years. Inspired by Japan’s “otaku” subculture, his art may look bright and “kawaii,” cute in Japanese, at first glance. However, its content is more profound than what first meets the eye. Otaku is a Japanese word that refers to people with an obsessive interest in particular subjects such as animat

Jan. 29, 2023

[Herald Interview] Park Min-joon’s art blurs reality, fiction

The two paintings by Sapierre featured in the novel “Two of Flags" are on show at Gallery Hyundai's exhibition of works by Park Min-joon, a fiction come to life. The novel, written by Park, tells the story of painter Sapierre who wanted to bring to life the figures in his paintings. His ambition and deathly efforts result in two paintings from which a boy named Ain springs out. The boy, asleep for 600 years, finally opens his eyes. The story refers to the fictional artist’s

Jan. 26, 2023

Thaddaeus Ropac presents first group show of Korean and Korean diaspora artists

The leading international gallery Thaddaeus Ropac has brought together a group of Korean and Korean diaspora artists to Seoul as its first exhibition of the year. The show is a first group show that focuses on art that shares the cultural context of Korea. The exhibition, titled “Myths of Our Time,” highlights the narratives drawn by the three female artists of Korean ethnicity whose works hold diverse cultural contexts “reimagined through a contemporary lens to address urgent

Jan. 21, 2023

Korea's art auction market led by Lee U-fan, Yayoi Kusama

The Korean art auction market saw a downturn last year, after sales reached a record high in 2021, but was buffered by two artists -- Korean artist Lee U-fan and Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama -- whose works saw the greatest popularity in the country’s auction markets, a recent report by Korean Art Authentication and Appraisal showed. Auction market sales fell 34.2 percent last year compared to 2021, while works by the two art masters saw steady popularity. Kusama’s “Statue of

Jan. 20, 2023

Museums worth the visit over Seollal holiday

If you are looking for a place to spend the long Seollal holiday weekend that runs through Tuesday, take a look at art exhibitions that will remain open at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea and Seoul Museum of Art. The national museum, which operates four branches across the country, will run throughout the holidays, except for MMCA Seoul in Samcheong-dong on Sunday, the first day of the lunar year. The museum’s four venues are located in Samcheong-dong, Deoksugung

Jan. 20, 2023

Artist Lee Ung-no's work from time in prison brought to light of day

Lee Ungno Museum in Daejon is shedding light on Korean modern artist Lee Ung-no's career from the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on how the late artist strove to break away from the conventional style of painting. The exhibition “Lee Ungno: New Style,” which launched Tuesday and runs through April 2, explores 62 artworks that he created over the two decades following the Korean War (1950-53). Lee, who helped pioneer Korean contemporary art, left for France in 1958 upon invitation b

Jan. 18, 2023

ACC Residency seeks soundscape researchers, artists

Asia Culture Center in Gwangju is accepting applications starting Jan. 25 for the 2023 ACC Residency program, inviting participants engaged in soundscape works to explore acoustic environments in cultural and geopolitical contexts with an emphasis on the sounds of Asian cities. Collaboration with the ACC Sound Art Lab, currently engaged in a long-term project called "Futures of Listening," is part of the residency program. A number of Asian cities have undergone rapid urbanization unde

Jan. 17, 2023

Exhibition of traditional, contemporary hanbok opens at Ara Art Center

Traditional hanbok and everyday hanbok that can be worn at work are on show at Ara Art Center in Insa-dong, Seoul, until Jan. 29. Titled "New Year, Hanbok," the exhibition not only introduces the beauty of hanbok, but also gives visitors the chance to think about how the value of traditional hanbok and old Korean customs are diminishing today. Five hanbok designers participated in the exhibition titled "Traditional Hanbok, Life Rituals" to present a total of 10 hanbok pieces.

Jan. 17, 2023

Yun Hyong-keun's rare hanji paintings shown for first time in Paris show

David Zwirner, a leading international gallery, is showcasing Korean artist Yun Hyong-keun (1928-2007) in Paris, unveiling the artist’s never-before presented hanji works. Hanji is Korea's traditional mulberry paper. “The exhibition is meaningful as we have not shown his works in Paris since Yun's passing. The paintings on hanji have never been shown to people although they were an important experiment in his career,” said Park Kyung-mee, president of PKM Gallery, the

Jan. 17, 2023