MMCA Director Youn Bum-mo offers to resign: reports

Youn Bum-mo, the director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea recently offered to resign from his post during a meeting with Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyoon, local media reported Thursday. Youn, whose term expires in early 2025, came under criticism last year when the Culture Ministry unprecedentedly revealed the result of a special audit which showed 16 cases of illegal and inappropriate actions at the museum, including purchasing artworks at auc

April 13, 2023

[Herald Interview] Shezad Dawood transports modernist architecture to the present

The vivid colors of the walls match the paintings of modernist architecture by London-based interdisciplinary artist Shezad Dawood at Barakat Contemporary in Seoul, where his second show at the gallery is running. Color is music to the artist who loves colors and calls himself a “real colorist.” When he stages an exhibition, he sees it as a musical score, in which different colors create both consonances and dissonances, he said. “For me, it is probably the first time ever doin

April 12, 2023

Park Young-ha's paintings inspired by traditional music on show at Helen J Gallery

Korean artist Park Young-ha’ solo exhibition “Local Songs: Park Young Ha” at the Helen J Gallery in Los Angeles shows the artist’s lyrical approach to art. Park has been known for paintings that recall the traditional mud-plastered walls of Korean houses in rural areas. Park has pursued paintings that feature matieres techniques, adding physical texture to a painting and using a mixture of materials such as fine sand, gold dust and stone powders. He layers them using meta

April 11, 2023

Over 20 Korean craft artists to be exhibited during Milan Design Week 2023

Korean craft art will be introduced at Milan Design Week 2023, scheduled to kick off April 17, with craft works by 20 Korean artists in the exhibition, “Shift Craft.” “Shift Craft,” curated by Koo Byung-jun, will coincide with Milano Design Week 2023, exhibiting 65 craft works encompassing ceramics, glass, wood and "otchil," or lacquerware. Organized by the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, the exhibition will run through April 23 at the Fondazione Giangiac

April 10, 2023

Gwangju Biennale delivers transnational, trans-generational reconciliation

GWANGJU -- It was raining when the 14th Gwangju Biennale opened last Wednesday, a reflection of the biennale's theme: “Soft and weak like water.” As a symbol of democratic uprising decades ago, the city has been left with wounds. Artistic director Lee Sook-kyung presented water as a metaphor for solidarity and recovery, bringing together 79 artists across the world whose works interpret the theme in transnational and trans-generational ways. The whole city will be filled with ar

April 9, 2023

Photo exhibition of ‘Forgotten DMZ’ explores war and nature

An exhibition featuring photographs of the Demilitarized Zone, led by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Hyungwon Kang and six student photographers, will kick off at the Omae Gallery in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, Friday. In the exhibition titled “Forgotten DMZ,” Kang and six students from Joongbu University studying photography teamed up to capture the remnants of the war as well as the nature that ironically survived on the stage of an armistice. The seven went to Camp Greaves, a former US

April 6, 2023

Louis Vuitton to hold first-ever fashion show in Seoul

French luxury powerhouse Louis Vuitton will hold its 2023 pre-fall fashion show at Sebit Island on the Han River in Gangnam-gu, the brand’s first-ever fashion show in Korea, on April 29. The occasion marks the brand's first fashion show for its pre-fall collection. Until now, the brand has only showcased pre-fall items via a look book. Pre-fall fashion, also referred to as a "buy now, wear now" collection, is a smaller collection that presents wearable yet stylish clothes

April 6, 2023

Two exhibitions at Kukje highlight pioneering contemporary artists Lee U-fan, Alexander Calder

American artist Alexander Calder and Korean artist Lee U-fan are pioneers of modern and contemporary art in sculpture and painting whose work is known for its philosophical aspects. Two exhibitions -- “Lee Ufan” and “Calder” -- taking place concurrently at Kukje Gallery in Seoul unveil the two master’s works, presenting lesser-known aspects of the artists. Popularly known for his hanging mobiles, in which suspended elements move in harmony according to the air cur

April 5, 2023

[Photo News] Green Apple

  GREEN APPLE -- An outdoor sculpture named "Youth" by Japanese architect Tadao Ando is on display at Museum SAN in Wonju, Gangwon Province, on Friday. The green apple sculpture was inspired by American poet Samuel Ullman's poem that reads "youth is not a time of life, but a state of mind." On Friday, Ando delivered a lecture at the museum on the theme of "Run with your dreams on the line." "Youth," an exhibition which explores the works of the archit

April 2, 2023

Museum of Korean art archives to open early April

A museum dedicated to archives of contemporary Korean art will open Tuesday in Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul as a place where one can look up a variety of art archives as well as see exhibitions. Art Archives, Seoul Museum of Art aims to collect and conduct research of archival material on Korea’s contemporary art, housing some 57,000 archives. Run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the archives at the museum can be accessed both online and offline. The building consists of six entities based

April 2, 2023

[Herald Interview] Art Central to grow larger, mulls return to Harbourfront site next year: fair director

Hong Kong -- Art Central, a global art fair in Hong Kong for distinguished galleries based in the Asia-Pacific region, held its eighth edition last week during Hong Kong Art Week. With over 40,000 visitors, this year's event marked the strongest turnout in the fair's history, after having to scale down due to the pandemic for three years. “There is certainly a lot of synergy of the art market here in Hong Kong, especially with the auction sector and internal growth of Hong Kong g

April 1, 2023

[Herald Interview] We are 'extremely committed' to continuing Art Basel Hong Kong: Art Basel CEO

HONG KONG -- All eyes were on Art Basel Hong Kong last week, which made its first full return since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, Asia's largest art fair went online and the following two years saw the event running at a much reduced scale. “One of the beautiful things about fairs is the spillover that the fair has into the cultural fabric of the city itself. The gallery scene in Hong Kong has accelerated tremendously in the years since A

March 29, 2023

[Feature] Commercial, academic collaboration revives Hong Kong art scene

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's art scene got back into full gear last week, drawing international visitors back to Asia’s premier art fair -- Art Basel Hong Kong -- as well as to the city’s West Kowloon Cultural District, anchored by the recently opened contemporary art museum, the M+. The Hong Kong Palace Museum, also part of the district, completed its renovation and opened to the public in 2022 to show more than 900 pieces of treasure from mainland China. The West Kowloon Cultura

March 29, 2023

Artist Oh Sea-young under spotlight at posthumous show

Artist Oh Sea-young was a painter who strived to embody Korean aesthetics, which he interpreted in his own unique way. His paintings show how much he pushed himself as an artist during his life, based both in South Korea and the US. He constantly evolved his art throughout his career, creating large-scale paintings. Oh got much of his inspiration from Korean artifacts such as traditional earthenware and elements found in the national flag of Korea. His paintings -- for which he used acrylic,

March 26, 2023

Danish arts center director, curator picked as artistic directors of Korean Pavilion at 2024 Venice Biennale

Arts Council Korea has appointed both the director and curator of a Danish art center as the artistic directors of the Korean Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition in 2024, the first-ever joint artistic directorship since the establishment of the Korean Pavilion in 1995. Jacob Fabricius, the artistic director of Art Hub Copenhagen, and curator Lee Seol-hui at Kunsthal Aarhus in Denmark will plan the Korean Pavilion around the theme, “Korean Scent Journey."

March 25, 2023

Joseon moon jar fetches record price at Christie's

A white porcelain moon jar from the 18th century fetched $4.5 million at Christie’s “Japanese and Korean Art” sale, the highest price fetch at auction by a moon jar. The sale was held Tuesday in New York. The British auction house explained that Joseon era porcelain was the highest quality moon jar put up for auction in at least 10 years. Owned by a Japanese private collector, the moon jar's estimated sale price was between $1 million and $2 million, according to preview

March 23, 2023

Designer Lie Sang-bong collaborates with Vienna museum for Gustav Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’

The 2023 fall-winter collection by Lie Sang-bong for his eponymous brand, which was presented at last week’s Seoul Fashion Week, will travel to Vienna later this year for a special fashion show and exhibition. Veteran fashion designer Lie and the Belvedere Museum in Vienna collaborated to feature Austrian painter Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” in Lie's latest collection. It was the Austrian museum’s first-ever project involving its art piece being presented through

March 23, 2023

[From the Scene] Art Basel Hong Kong heralds city's comeback after pandemic

HONG KONG -- Returning after four years, Art Basel Hong Kong has pumped energy back into the city, attracting art lovers from around the world who swarmed the booths at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday, “The city never stood still during the pandemic. It continued to push the boundaries and innovate. In fact, the cultural landscape in Hong Kong has continued to grow from strength to strength,” said Noah Horowitz, CEO of Art Basel, at a press reception Tuesday

March 21, 2023

Museum dedicated to Park Seo-bo to open on Jeju in 2024

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- The first museum dedicated to Korea’s leading contemporary artist, Park Seo-bo, will be built on Jeju Island. The museum is set to open in summer 2024 on a site next to JW Marriot Jeju Resort and Spa. “I was very delighted when I was presented with the offer of building a museum (by JW Marriot Jeju Resort and Spa). I had been wishing to found my own museum during my lifetime,” Park said at the press conference held on Tuesday at JW Marriot Jeju Resort

March 18, 2023

[Photo News] Stars dazzle Seoul Fashion Week

Stars took the spotlight on the third day of Seoul Fashion Week on Friday as the event continued its five-day run at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul. Seoul Fashion Week, one of the nation's biggest fashion events held biannually by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, on Wednesday kicked off its 22nd edition presenting 2023 fall-winter collections from established and aspiring designers. The event runs for five days until Sunday. Celebrities and fashionistas flocked to the show dail

March 18, 2023