The Korea Herald

Performances to look out for in 2017

Jan 1, 2017

Major arts venues offer shows that range from the avant-garde to the classical
Germany says had to cancel show of Iran shah’s art trove

Dec 28, 2016

BERLIN (AFP) -- German cultural officials said Tuesday they had to cancel a planned Berlin exhibition of an Iranian treasure trove of Western modern art after Tehran refused to provide an export permit. The show of paintings collected by the wife of Iran’s late shah, featuring masterpieces by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Andy Warhol, had been billed as a symbol of a diplomatic thaw since Iran’s ...
Heated debate continues over authenticity of ‘Beautiful Woman’

Dec 27, 2016

The debate on whether the painting “Beautiful Woman” is a genuine work by late Korean artist Chun Kyung-ja is far from over, despite the prosecutors’ recent conclusion that the piece was Chun’s creation. During a heated press conference in Seoul on Tuesday, Jean Penicaut, CEO of French image analysis firm Lumiere Technology, fiercely defended his firm’s conclusion that there is only a 0.0002 per...
17 stolen masterpieces returned to Italy with only scratches

Dec 22, 2016

VERONA, Italy (AP) -- Seventeen masterpieces valued at 17 million euros ($17.7 million) were returned to Italy from Ukraine on Wednesday after being stolen by masked, armed robbers from a Verona art museum last year. Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, who traveled to Kiev to retrieve the paintings -- which included works by Rubens, Tintoretto and Mantegna -- said the possibility of eve...
French art analysis firm lashes out against Korean prosecution’s report

Dec 21, 2016

Lumiere Technology stands by its September report that ‘Beautiful Woman’ is most likely a forgery
'The Bodyguard' musical makes Asia premiere in Seoul

Dec 21, 2016

Based on the eponymous 1992 American blockbuster film “The Bodyguard,” the iconic movie-turned-musical has made its Asian premiere in Seoul. A cult classic starring Kevin Costner as Frank Farmer and the late Whitney Houston as Rachel Marron, the film’s soundtrack went certified 17 times platinum and snagged a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, propelling the already popular rhythm and blues di...
[Herald Interview] Dutch National Ballet principal to guest star in ‘The Nutcracker’

Dec 20, 2016

Ballerino Choi Young-gyu to have first performance in Korea
Legacy of Napoleon‘s artistic plunder on show in Rome

Dec 19, 2016

ROME (AFP) -- When he was just plain old Bonaparte, the man who was to became Napoleon pillaged works of art from all over Europe with the aim of making the Louvre in Paris a museum for all mankind. Now some of the major works that the little corporal‘s armies took from Italy have been gathered together in an exhibition in Rome to mark the 200th anniversary of their restitution, and the unexpect...
Chun Kyung-ja’s long-disputed artwork declared genuine

Dec 19, 2016

Prosecutors settle 25-year controversy
18th century Chinese imperial seal sells for record $22m

Dec 15, 2016

PARIS (AFP) - An 18th-century Chinese imperial seal sold for a record 21 million euros ($22 million) in Paris on Wednesday -- more than 20 times its estimate, the Drouot auction house told AFP. Decorated with stylized dragons, the symbol of imperial authority, the extremely rare stamp in red and beige nephrite jade comes from the Qianlong period (1736-1795). It was snapped up by an unnamed Chin...
Spend the holiday season with live music

Dec 15, 2016

With Christmas and New Year’s just around the corner, festive cheer is in the air. Despite the weather quickly taking a turn toward bone-chilling temperatures, there is a long list of live concerts and performances where people can celebrate the holiday season out of the winter cold. For those looking to escape the winter blues, there’s nothing like a bit of cultural indulgence to add a littl...
Giving ephemeral graffiti art permanence

Dec 11, 2016

Seoul exhibition highlights seven global icons of contemporary street art
[Arts calendar] Musicals, exhibitions, concerts and more

Dec 9, 2016

Theater “Raoul Dufy & Bernard Buffet: Two visionaries in the 20th century French art”: In celebration of the 130-year friendship between France and Korea, the Opera Gallery in Seoul is showing some 20 artworks by leading contemporary French artists, Raoul Dufy and Bernard Buffet. Highlighting the two artists’ uniquely different aesthetic visions, the exhibition, which runs until Dec. 30, aims t...
18th-century Buddhist painting returned to home soil

Dec 8, 2016

As a lover of Korean art and an avid collector, American Robert Mattielli often visited Mary’s Alley, known for its hole-in-the-wall antique shops, in Insa-dong, Seoul during his more than 30 years in Korea. On one of his regular visits to the neighborhood in the early 1970s, he discovered and purchased a Buddhist painting with notable wear and tear for a mere $10. Yoon Dong-han, the chairman a...
‘The Underdog’ musical explores social hierarchies

Dec 8, 2016

In a dog-eat-dog world, “The Underdog” musical employs the life of everyday canines to expose the dark, seedy underbelly of the social class systems of humankind. Rife with political and socioeconomic references, “The Underdog” opened its curtains in the theater district of Daehangno last week as part of Uniplex’s three-year anniversary celebration. The musical follows the life of a Korean Jind...