Art sleuths said on Monday they believe they have found traces of a Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece on a hidden wall in a palace in Florence that has not been seen in over four centuries. The traces were collected using tiny probes introduced into a wall covering the original surface in a lavish hall in the Palazzo Vecchio and contained a black pigment also used in the "Mona Lisa," historians and ...

Savina Museum of Contemporary Art presents interactive, real-time ‘social networking arts’ A hideous looking robot came to life when the number posted on one of its arms was called on a phone. Various parts of the robot creaked and turned, and drops of reddish brown paint slid down a thin tube onto a feather swooshing across a white canvas laid in the center of the machine. A colorful abstract ...

The National Gugak Center will hold a special fashion and music gala with hanbok designer Lee Young-hee in New York in October to commemorate the 130th anniversary of ties between Korea and the United States. One-hundred musicians will play royal court banquet music entitled “Music of Peace, Dream of the Dynasty,” adapted from Bongsudangjinchan Banquet, which was dedicated to the 60th birthday o...

Universal Ballet president and director to lead company on tour of South Africa this month More than 1,000 people gave a standing ovation in November last year at the finale of the Universal Ballet Company’s “Shim Chung” at the Royal Opera House in Oman. Two months ago in January, about 100 middle-aged women crowded a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, to attend the fan meeting of UBC’s young ballerin...

Exhibitions “Song for Nobody”: Bae Young-whan’s solo exhibition at Plateau in Taepyeongro, central Seoul, looks back on the last 15 years of his artistic career. The artist, who represented Korea at the 2005 Venice Art Biennale, filled the 43-square-meter exhibition space with 26 works that share the same theme, but are very diverse in genre and materials. His chandelier work “Insomnia -- Song o...

Seoul Living Design Fair 2012 introduces latest designs and inspiring artworks A wide spectrum of household goods is found at Seoul Living Design Fair 2012 currently underway at COEX Hall A in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. The difference between a mart and the fair, though, is that every piece is artistic in its own way. Established by magazine publishing company Design House in 1994, the fair...

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Thursday held a special ceremony at the restoration site of Sungnyemun, commonly known as Namdaemun, announcing that the completion of its restoration is close at hand. The historic gate of Seoul, which is also National Treasure No.1, was severely damaged by arson in 2008. The administration announced last month that the restoration will be completed by De...

LONDON (AFP) ― Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has sold part of his “Sunflower Seeds” installation to Britain’s Tate Gallery, it said on Monday. The London gallery has bought around eight million of the 100 million porcelain seeds, which covered the floor of the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2010, for an undisclosed figure. The public was initially able to walk over the 1,000-square-meter ca...

Scott Wightman, British Ambassador to Korea, made his first visit to South Gyeongsang Province on Monday to promote the upcoming London Olympics and express his interest in South Gyeongsang-based corporations. During his visit to the province, Wightman had a meeting with the province governor, Kim Doo-gwan, in the provincial government building in Changwon. He reportedly said British corporation...

Aside from pop culture, sharing of academic and artistic content also important: Director Michigami This is the fifth of the series introducing cultural centers of different countries in Seoul. ― Ed. As is evident from the popularity of Girls’ Generation and Jang Geun-suk, Japan has continued to be charmed by Korea’s popular culture ever since the mega hit TV series “Winter Sonata” captured Jap...

Pop Music “Budapest Saxophone Quartet”: The Budapest Saxophone Quartet from Hungary will perform at Chungmu Art Hall on March 12 in collaboration with renowned Korean artists including Soprano Kim Hee-jung, Pianists Ha Soon-won and musical actress Choi Jung-won. Formed in 1995, the quartet was the first group of four saxophonists to play not only classical music but also other music genres such ...

Kukje Gallery sheds light on German-born U.S. artist Her life was short, but she was influential. Late U.S. artist Eva Hesse is one of the most critically celebrated artists of the 20th century. Born into a Jewish family in Germany in 1936, she moved to the U.S. at age 9 but lost her parents soon after. She studied painting at Yale University of Art and Architecture in New Haven and slowly bec...