French curator Nicolas Bourriaud will direct the 15th Gwangju Biennale scheduled to open in September 2024. Bourriaud is a renowned critic in the global art scene who has explored the concept of “relational aesthetics.” The discourse of relational aesthetics -- which deals with concept of relationships, meditation, participation and interaction -- is often cited as one of the defining concepts in contemporary art. Bourriaud plans to incorporate his artistic philosophy into a discou

Arts & Design May 12, 2023

As Seoul has emerged as a new key Asian art hub in the last couple of years with the country's growing number of art collectors, many are curious as to whether its new presence in the global art scene will grow bigger and stronger or slowly diminish. Hwang Dal-sung, president of the Galleries Association of Korea, who was reelected to lead the association representing some 160 galleries in Korea for another two years following a tightly fought election in February, is determined to strength

Arts & Design May 11, 2023

Nam June Paik Art Center, the world’s only museum dedicated to the Korea-born video art master, has unveiled the artist’s early work “Random Access Audio Tape” for the first time in South Korea after acquiring the piece last year. The exhibition “Something Like an Appleseed” at the museum in Gyeonggi Province was inspired by Paik’s 1980 lecture titled “Random Access Information” which was organized by curator Barbara London of the Museum of

Arts & Design May 9, 2023

When Art Busan kicked off in 2012, South Korea's second-largest city Busan was an "art desert." Twelve years later, the organizers claim the fair, which began Thursday, has helped the city turn into a thriving art destination in South Korea. And during this year's four-day air fair, the city’s vibrant art scene lights up beyond its home at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center. For instance, at the Paradise Hotel Busan, about 3 kilometers from Bexco, British artist

Arts & Design May 5, 2023

This weekend, along with the arrival of Children's Day and warmer weather, there are a variety of options on offer. Among the many choices, this week's "Well-curated Weekend" introduces a drone light show at the Han River, the "Museum of Innocence" and the Myeongdong Festival. 500 drone light show over Han River Seoul is set to light up the night sky with a spectacular drone show featuring over 500 drones this week. As part of the “Seoul Festa 2023” ce

Culture May 5, 2023

BUSAN -- Returning to Busan after five years, British artist Julian Opie showcased the evolution of his art during the pandemic lockdown. The lockdown provided new inspiration to the artist, who has experimented with different forms of art over the years. Opie is famous for bringing life into images with use of LEDs, which are used to animate figures. His iconic LED installations of walking people have become familiar to commuters in Seoul with his large-scale media display, “Crowd,”

Arts & Design May 4, 2023

French artist JR claims to own the largest gallery in the world -- the walls around the cities he travels to. The photographer has earned global recognition in his creation of participatory projects across the world that deliver powerful messages in collaboration with citizens. The photographer has unveiled his first large-scale exhibition in Seoul at the Lotte Museum of Art, introducing his projects and helping people understand the intention behind his works. JR has carried out a number of par

Arts & Design May 3, 2023

GWANGJU -- In celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and South Korea, the Embassy of Switzerland in Seoul is presenting “Spaceless,” an exhibition at the Swiss Pavilion in the 14th Gwangju Biennale. The pavilion, set up at Leeleenam Studio, is a collaboration of eight young photographers from the two countries. It presents the urban environment through an artistic lens, and a photographic rediscovery of urban spaces. Curated by Chun Kyung-wo

Arts & Design May 1, 2023

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has brought South Korea’s emerging artists to the fore at exhibitions dedicated to young artists since the state museum was founded in 1986. “Young Korean Artists” is the museum's longest-running program that aims to discover young artists. Thirteen emerging artists and collectives recommended by the state museum's curators and art experts are participating in this year's exhibition titled “Young K

Arts & Design April 29, 2023

A total of 20 craft works by contemporary mother-of-pearl artist Yoo Ji-an are on display at Lotte Hotel in Seoul. Yoo has created sculptures inspired by Korea’s traditional craftsmanship, pioneering the genre of contemporary mother-of-pearl art. The exhibition “On the Path of Time” features the artist’s “The Moon” series at the hotel’s lobby and lounge “Le Salon” on the 16th floor. One of Yoo’s moon jars created with mother-of-pearl, p

Arts & Design April 28, 2023

South Korea’s contemporary craftsmanship will be introduced in London to coincide with London Craft Week, bringing together 11 Korean craft masters and artists at the exhibition “Light of Weaving: Labour-Hand-Hours” from May 11 to June 30. The exhibition at the Korean Cultural Centre UK will feature works by successful Korean craft masters and unique work inspired by traditional Korean craftwork. Among the artists is Jeong Da-hye, winner of the 2022 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize

Arts & Design April 28, 2023

Daegu Art Museum is under a special audit by the city government after one of the museum's paintings was found to be a forged work. "Plum Blossom," attributed to Joseon-era painter Kim Jin-man (1876-1933), was found to have been forged, and the city government is looking into how it became part of the city museum's collection. “Technically all works are subject to inspection. We will remove works found to be fake from our collection. For now, we are waiting for the in

Arts & Design April 27, 2023

Interdisciplinary artist Elly Cho’s solo exhibition “The Occupancy of the Self: Imagining Hybrid Moments” has kicked off at This is Not a Church, a cultural space in Seoul. Through different artistic practices, Cho explores the impact of climate change on the future environment. The exhibition features artworks created using AI drawing tools, capturing the artist's imagination of the future with the potential emergence of a hybrid human species due to climate change. The e

Arts & Design April 27, 2023

When Spanish architect Fernando Menis came to Seoul in early 2020 for a lecture, he found himself stuck in the city as the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic halted all international travel. It was a totally unexpected situation, and the architect decided to walk around the city every day just to explore it without any particular intent. “After I had breakfast at 8 a.m., I started to walk for five hours every day alone like a student. I (found) a lot of things beautiful. I discovered sma

Arts & Design April 25, 2023

Ever since it was announced early this year that American realist painter Edward Hopper’s exhibition was going to open in Seoul, there has been a huge interest in the show, prompting more than 100,000 early bird tickets to be sold before the opening last week. The exhibition “Edward Hopper: From City to Coast” at Seoul Museum of Art, which opened Wednesday, marks the first-ever exhibition in South Korea of the New York-born artist (1882-1967), known for his paintings of ordinar

Arts & Design April 23, 2023