Art Busan to feature exhibitions, conversations with art professionals

Art Busan, one of South Korea’s major art fairs, will kick off on Thursday with its VVIP opening featuring conversations with leading art professionals and exhibitions of works from world-renowned artists. The art fair will run through Sunday at the Bexco Exhibition Center in Busan. The four-day event will include works of 133 galleries in 21 countries including Gray -- a gallery based in Chicago and New York that represents David Hockney, Alex Katz and Jaume Plensa -- and is among the

May 9, 2022

NFT 101: Gangdong Arts Center seeks to educate public on NFT art

“Digital Era NFT Art 101,“ an exhibition that aims to bring emerging nonfungible token projects to the public, is being held through May 29 at Gangdong Arts Center in Seoul. Some 70 artists are participating in the exhibition, alongside conferences and educational programs on NFT art that are being held. The NFT art exhibition is co-organized by Gangdong Arts Center, which is run by the Gangdong Cultural Foundation, and ArtToken, a Seoul-based digital art platform. The show spans

May 8, 2022

Hito Steyerl unveils new artwork ‘Animal Spirits’ that values ecology, humanity

One of the most influential artists today, German artist Hito Steyerl transcends boundaries – as a visual artist, filmmaker, writer and philosopher. The artist questions where humans fit in an increasingly threatening world, where ever-evolving digital technology and capitalism has expanded to cryptocurrency. She is also a writer who has published academic journals and books such as “Duty Free Art -- Art in the Age of Planetary Civil Wars” and “The Wretched of the Scree

May 4, 2022

[Venice Biennale 2022] Park Seo-bo shows his unending spirit with new Ecriture works in Venice

VENICE, Italy -- Park Seo-bo -- the pioneer of Korean abstract art, also known as the master of dansaekhwa -- has unveiled a new Ecriture painting in Venice, Italy. The painting, which took nearly three years to complete, is the result of the 92-year-old artist’s ceaseless devotion to his art. The 2.6-meter-wide painting, titled “Ecriture No 190512-21,” features pastel colors in his early pencil Ecriture style. Each gap between blocks of pencil shading seems like a breathing

May 2, 2022

Next year’s Gwangju Biennale will show how art embraces contradictions ‘like water’

The 14th Gwangju Biennale, taking place from April 7 to July 9 in Gwangju, will be held under the theme of “Soft and weak like water” as a metaphor for art that permeates deep into individuals, letting us embrace and understand the complexities of the world. The country’s largest biennale will be curated by Lee Sook-kyung, senior curator of International Art at Tate Modern, who will examine the so-called “Gwangju Spirit” -- an expression that connotes the city&r

April 29, 2022

Glass artist Kim Ki-ra creates houses that lead to heaven

Artist Kim Ki-ra is part of a generation of glass artists in South Korea to have pursued glass art over the past 40 years. The exhibition “The Stairs into My Memory” at Gallery Sklo in central Seoul showcases 30 new glass works inspired by homes. “Glass is a two-faced material. It can last long like a phoenix, but it is easily broken to pieces once it is hit by an impact. Glass is transparent, but it can be obscure,” Kim told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. With

April 29, 2022

You are cordially invited to the home of Lee Kun-hee the collector

When late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee and his family donated the late tycoon’s collection last April to the country’s national museums, the art circle was surprised at the unprecedented donation of art in Korea. Included among the approximately 23,000 donated works are national treasures and rarely seen Korean artworks. To mark the first anniversary of the donation, the two national museums -- The National Museum of Korea and The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Kore

April 27, 2022

Vivid colors, layered cuts, braided hairstyle headline spring-summer hair trends

Hair trends are in for a shakeup this spring and summer, as Koreans seek a new look as limits on private gatherings are eased. More daring colors and hairstyles will likely headline spring-summer 2022, with local experts predicting vivid coloring, layered haircuts and braided styling to lead the trend. One of the easiest changes both men and women can make to their hair is a new color. Ash-brown was once loved by many as a way to show a refined look, but the trend has shifted to vivid colors

April 27, 2022

[Venice Biennale 2022] Chun Kwang-young perseveres with making hanji packages

VENICE, Italy -- The sound of a heartbeat reverberates inside a dark room where a large hanji sculpture sits. Sitting near the sculpture, you will notice that heartbeat is irregular, leading you to wonder if your own heart is healthy. Chun Kwang-young has stubbornly pursued his art with hanji over the past 30 years. His perseverance as an artist is being recognized at a collateral exhibition of the 59th Venice Biennale titled “Chun Kwang Young: Times Reimagined” at Palazzo Contari

April 27, 2022

[Venice Biennale 2022] ‘The Milk of Dreams’ breaks barriers of human cognition

VENICE, Italy -- Taking place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has become a turning point for many people, the 59th edition of Venice Biennale feels special, forcing us to think differently about life and things that we have taken for granted. This year’s international art exhibition, titled “The Milk of Dreams,” was curated by Cecilia Alemani and features works by 213 artists from 58 countries. The artists’ new works are presented at the biennale’s two main ven

April 25, 2022

[Venice Biennale 2022] Venice exhibition highlights Korean contemporary artist Ha Chong-hyun

VENICE, Italy – Coinciding with the Venice Biennale 2022, a retrospective of Korean contemporary artist Ha Chong-hyun is on display at Palazzetto Tito, a historical palace located in Dorsoduro, southeastern Venice. The exhibit includes rarely-seen early paintings with creative experimentation from the renowned 86-year-old artist. The retrospective is a collateral event of the 59th Venice Biennale and is held jointly by La Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, the Seoul-based Kukje Gallery and

April 25, 2022

Gen Z fuels Y2K fashion revival

Fashion trends constantly change but they also come back full circle every two or three decades, backed by generational changes as well as fashion designers taking inspiration from old trends to translate them into “modern” styles. Y2K era fashion trends from the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s were seen on the runways at many spring-summer 2022 shows and Generation Z -- those born between mid-1990s to early 2010s -- can’t seem to get enough. Y2K fashion was a fad among ce

April 22, 2022

[Venice Biennale 2022] ‘Gyre’ at Korean Pavilion questions absolute power

VENICE, Italy -- As the 59th Venice Biennale kicked off Wednesday, 80 national pavilions unveiled their shows at the Giardini, a waterfront park located on the eastern edge of Venice, bringing art that resonates with the world today. The opening of the international art exhibition, which was delayed a year due to the pandemic, drew art-craving crowds waiting in long lines to enter the park. Entering the Giardini, one may notice a huge change at the 59th edition of the art exhibition -- an e

April 21, 2022

Tongyeong Triennale vivifies coastal city's 420-year history of craftsmanship

TONGYEONG, South Gyeongsang Province -- On the southern coast of South Korea is a cozy and quiet port city called Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang Province. The small port city with a population of 126,000, including some 570 islets, is known as the home to great cultural figures such as composer Yun I-sang, novelist Park Kyong-ni and poet Kim Choon-su. It is little known, however, that the city has a long history of craftsmanship and was a mecca for producing craftwork during the Joseon era (1

April 18, 2022

Kansong Art Museum reopens after seven years, pledges not to put collection up for auction

Kansong Art Museum, South Korea’s oldest private museum, opened its doors for the first time since 2014 on Saturday. The current show is the last chance to view an exhibition at the historic venue before restoration on the 85-year-old main building begins. The museum had remained closed since the fall of 2014 as it became difficult to accommodate visitors in the aging facility. From 1972 to 2014, the museum held exhibitions twice a year, each highly anticipated exhibition drawing lar

April 17, 2022

Dior set to ink Ewha University partnership before 1st runway show

French luxury fashion house Christian Dior and Ewha Womans University in Seoul will sign a partnership agreement at the end of April to jointly foster the next generation of women leaders, according to officials. “The detailed content of the partnership was set in March. But the ceremony is likely to take place sometime this month ahead of the (Dior) show,” an official at Ewha Womans University told The Korea Herald. The fashion company approached the university, expressing intere

April 13, 2022

Lee Kun-hee collection exhibition extended to June

The exhibition of art bequeathed to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea by the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee will run for another two months, the museum announced Tuesday. This is the second extension of the special exhibition “MMCA Lee Kun-hee Collection: Masterpieces of Korean Art,” which opened July 21, 2021. The exhibition will now come to a close on June 6. Some of the most outstanding and best-known works by Korea’s modern and contempora

April 13, 2022

National museum showcases massive painting to mark Buddha’s birthday

National Museum of Korea is marking Buddha’s birthday with a special exhibition, “Feast of Light,” which opens Wednesday. This year, Buddha’s birthday falls on May 8. The highlight of the exhibition is a large-scale 17th-century scroll painting featuring Rocana Buddha from Sudeoksa, a Buddhist temple in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, and a 14th-century Goryeo-era wooden lotus pedestal. Both are state-designated treasures. Gwaebul refers to very large Buddhist banne

April 12, 2022

[International Galleries in Seoul] Tang Contemporary Art takes Seoul as bridge to wider international market

The following is part of a series that explores international galleries that have opened a location in Seoul, as a new art hub in Asia. --Ed. Tang Contemporary Art started engaging with South Korea five years ago, after joining the annual Art Busan. One of Asia’s major art galleries, the Beijing-based institution solidified ties with the fast-rising art market last year, presenting works both at Kiaf SEOUL and Art Busan. “Art fairs in South Korea in the past five years got us t

April 11, 2022

MMCA to build Daejeon venue, host joint shows with world’s renowned museums

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will build its fifth venue in Daejeon and cement ties with internationally renowned museums to promote Korean art as part of its new plan to reach local and international audiences. The museum’s venue in Daejeon -- the country’s fifth-largest city -- will open in early 2026, occupying the building of the former South Chungcheong provincial government office. Renovation of the modernist building first built in 1932 will sta

April 6, 2022