Craft art enjoy a boom in pandemic times

Craft art usually requires a sophisticated touch by artists, an understanding of traditional craftsmanship and, of course, hours of labor. It did not come as a surprise to artistic director Yang Teo when the country’s largest craft art fair gained unprecedented popularity this year. The 17th edition of the Craft Trend Fair -- which kicked off Thursday and runs through Sunday at Coex in southern Seoul -- saw a 40 percent increase in applications by craft artists, galleries and craft brand

Dec. 8, 2022

Photography exhibition on Asia's new normal to open Friday in Hong Kong

A photography exhibition titled “Changing Asia – New Normal” will open in Hong Kong on Dec. 9, co-organized by China Daily and Asia News Network. It was held in Bangkok on Nov. 16, coinciding with Bangkok's successful hosting of a key meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies. The exhibition has attracted 179 photographers from 18 countries, with 1,175 images submitted. Mr. Zhou Li -- deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Group and publisher and editor-in-chief of

Dec. 8, 2022

Barakat Contemporary introduces prominent Korean artists in London

Barakat Contemporary, one of the leading contemporary art galleries in Seoul, is presenting exhibitions of three prominent Korean artists in London as part of efforts to introduce the country's contemporary art in Europe. The artists -- Kim Yun-chul, Chung Seo-young and Jun So-jung -- are pioneers of different artistic practices and have emerged as prominent artists in the contemporary art scene since the 1990s. The three exhibitions are running at No. 9 Cork Street, an exhibition space r

Dec. 7, 2022

Gucci to hold fashion show in Seoul on May 15

Italian luxury fashion house Gucci said Tuesday it will hold its Cruise 2024 collection show in Seoul on May 15, without revealing the specific venue. The brand said it had picked South Korea for being the center of dynamic heritage, culture and creativity, which is in line with Gucci’s core values. Just last month, Gucci had to call off its fashion show titled “Gucci Cosmogonie Collection Seoul” scheduled to take place at Gyeongbokgung Palace on Nov. 1, following the tragedy

Dec. 6, 2022

Artist Nam Hwa-yeon turns eye towards future at Atelier Hermes

Artist Nam Hwa-yeon, who shed light on Korea's modern dance pioneer Choi Seung-hee's life with narratives that bridge the past and present, unveiled her new work on Nov. 18 at Atelier Hermes in Seoul. She titled the show “Gabriel,” the archangel known as the messenger of God in charge of heralding future events, especially wars and births. Gabriel is best known as the angel who delivered to the Virgin Mary the news that she would give birth to Jesus. The artist did not excl

Dec. 6, 2022

Fashion designers, textile artists interact at inaugural fashion week at Hongik University

Hongik University, a prestigious art university in South Korea, held its inaugural Hongik Fashion Week with the aim of fostering collaboration among students beyond their degrees and majors in the department of textile art and fashion design. “I am grateful to be able to present fashion week, and I am confident that we can create a new trend by collaborating together regardless of their fields,” said Choi Chul-yong, associate professor of fashion design at the opening ceremony on Wed

Dec. 5, 2022

Kukje Gallery chairperson Lee Hyun-sook among ArtReview’s Power 100

The founder and chairman of Kukje Gallery, Lee Hyun-sook, was listed as one of the top 100 influential figures in the contemporary art scene by ArtReview, a British art magazine, on Thursday. Lee ranked 75th on the list of “2022 Power 100” selected based on an analysis of their recent activities and contribution to the industry. Founding the gallery in 1982, Lee has established Kukje Gallery as a “dominant player” in Seoul, now being touted as a hub for galleries seeking

Dec. 2, 2022

[Herald Interview] Rhee Ki-bong offers the key to open your room of art

Artists reveal what they hold inside -- something deeply hidden in their minds -- through their work. From a distance, Rhee Ki-bong’s landscape paintings appear misty, like dreamy scenery. “Art is to bring out things from one’s unconscious. It is often said ‘to create’ things, but it is -- in fact -- ‘to reveal.’ To reveal is not as easy as it may sound; one may need to have many experiences in life and most of all, a strong will to persevere as an artis

Nov. 30, 2022

[Herald Interview] Kang Ik-joong stresses artist's role of connecting people

“I nearly died from COVID-19 last year,” said the New York-based artist Kang Ik-joong in an interview with The Korea Herald earlier this month. “For about a week, I couldn’t breathe well. Lying down didn’t help, sitting didn’t help,” he said. “So one day, I went out to the garden, opened my chest and began taking deep breaths like this,” he said, pushing his chest forward with his arms up wide open and looking upward. “I was able to bre

Nov. 30, 2022

El Anatsui turns bottle caps into glittering golden tapestry at second show in Seoul

A golden tapestry-like assemblage shimmers on a wall struck by light coming through a large glass window. The 6-meter-tall installation “New World Symphony” is a new work created by acclaimed Ghanaian artist El Anatsui for his second show in Seoul at Barakat Contemporary. It is hard to tell that the shimmering comes from light hitting numerous small bottle caps unless one takes a very close look. Bottle caps have been a significant art medium for the artist since the late 1990s. It i

Nov. 28, 2022

[Weekender] Jeju Biennale shows the island's natural identity

JEJU CITY -- About an hour‘s flight from the South Korean capital of Seoul, Jeju Island is a popular destination for those who want to get away from the grit of the city. The ubiquitous porous basalt, covering more than 90 percent of the island, is evidence that the island was created as a result of volcanic activity. "Dolharubang," or village guardian statues carved out of porous basalt, fresh seafood, mandarin oranges and more than 368 parasitic cones are iconic symbols of t

Nov. 26, 2022

Korean ancient book, women's poetry listed on regional list of UNESCO Memory of the World

A South Korean ancient history book, traditional women's poetry and records of a massive oil spill have been added to the regional list of the UNESCO Memory of the World program. The Cultural Heritage Administration said "Samguk-yusa" (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) and two other candidates from the country were granted the status during a general meeting of the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific. The meeting was held in Andong, about 270 kilometers

Nov. 26, 2022

Perrotin Gallery to introduce more Korean artists globally

Perrotin Gallery will present paintings by Korean artist Shim Moon-seup in Hong Kong for the first time in December, as part of efforts to introduce more Korean artists in the global art scene, the contemporary art gallery said. “Perrotin Gallery was the first gallery that introduced Korean contemporary artist Park Seo-bo and Chung Chang-sup in Europe in 2014 and 2015. We will continue presenting Korean artists overseas as a global gallery,” Perrotin said recently. Shim’s sol

Nov. 25, 2022

Best of Korean crafts on show

The best of Korean crafts are on show through Sunday at Changwon Exhibition Convention Center, in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. A total of 229 winning handicraft works from this year’s Korea Crafts Competition are displayed at the exhibition, as well as 90 previous winning works. This year, more than 2,012 works were submitted across six categories: wood lacquer, ceramics, metal, textiles, paper and others. Winning the top honor of the presidential award was a tea set by artist Jung

Nov. 24, 2022

German painter Max Beckmann's rare self-portrait to go on the block

One of the few self-portraits by German painter Max Beckmann (1884-1950) will be auctioned by the German auction house Grisebach in Berlin on Dec. 1. The artist, who lived through the two world wars, is known as one of the most influential artists of the time. “Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa” is a self-portrait painted in 1943 and has been privately owned since its creation. Beckmann took refuge in Holland during World War II to flee Nazi Germany and the self-portrait was painted during thi

Nov. 21, 2022

ABCollections makes space for sharing art

Art collectors in South Korea have largely remained reluctant to share their collections as collecting art pieces has long been considered a niche for the wealthy. This reluctance, however, has been gradually changing, especially among younger generations who are willing to share what they collect as well as wanting to learn about others. The newly opened exhibition space ABCollections caters to the increasing number of collectors in the country who would like to show their art collection to o

Nov. 20, 2022

[Feature] Land open to public again after 110 years becomes central Seoul park -- for now

Walking westward from the main gate of the main palace Gyeongbokgung is a large open space filled with flowers and plants. The 37,000-square-meter space in Songhyeon-dong, previously blocked off by high walls on all sides, has been transformed into a park where people can now come and go freely. “Yeorlin Songhyeon,” meaning "open Songhyeon," opened to the public in early October with its autumnal flowers in full bloom. People came to sit on benches and take in the view wi

Nov. 20, 2022

[Herald Interview] Smithsonian hopes to show Lee Kun-hee collection

With its centennial coming up, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art is looking to enhance relationship with Korean art scene amidst the rising popularity of Korean culture in the US and around the world. The museum is home to 46,000 artworks, five times the initial collection donated by its founder Charles Lang Freer in 1923, but a relatively small proportion of these are from Korea. As part of efforts to address this, the art museum -- the first fine art museum to become a Smith

Nov. 13, 2022

British auction house Phillips appoints Suh Min-hee as Seoul regional director

British art auction house Phillips recently appointed Suh Min-hee as the new regional director for the Seoul office, which opened in 2018. Founded in 1796 in London, the auction house focuses on contemporary art and design from the 20th and 21st century, and runs offices in New York, London, Geneva, Hong Kong and Seoul. The Seoul office is located in Hannam-dong. The Seoul operation has seen an increase in transactions in recent years with a growing body of new collectors. The Korean market

Nov. 11, 2022

Park Seo-bo first Korean artist to collaborate with Louis Vuitton

  A red painting by Korean contemporary artist Park Seo-bo has been turned into one of Louis Vuitton’s iconic Capucines bags, making Park the first Korean artist to collaborate with the French luxury brand for the Artycapucines collection. Park began the Ecriture series -- also called "Myobop” in Korean -- in the late 1960s working with pencil before creating the color Ecriture series in the 2000s, inspired by a variety of colors found in nature. The red painting, which w

Nov. 10, 2022