Enforcement decree in heritage law eased to promote Korean art overseas

The Korea Heritage Service has eased a decades-long rule that banned artworks from being taken out of the country. Under the previous rule, artworks 50 years old or more, when being considered for sale or exhibition outside Korea, were required to get agency approval over concerns valuable heritage could slip out of the country. The new enforcement decree to the Cultural Heritage Preservation and Utilization Act, effective Tuesday, has loosened the restriction, removing the review process for ar

July 23, 2024

[Herald Interview] Alternatives to apartments are possible in Korea: curator Chung Dah-young

Apartments constitute the most typical residential form across South Korea's cities, accounting for more than half of all housing in the country. Most people rarely have a chance to think critically about what options other than apartments might be possible. The newly opened exhibition “Performative Home: Architecture for Alternative Living” at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, gets visitors to think outside the box about

July 22, 2024

[Media Art Now] Sanghee’s gameplay revisits idea of interactivity and connectivity

Everything seems synchronized today, happening at the same time and at the same speed. You can connect yourself with the world, whenever you want and even when you do not want to. It is an age where a sense of being together is more easily obtained than a sense of being separated. But is this really true? Is the synchronicity a prerequisite or a preference when you seek to generate interactive togetherness? Sanghee (capitalized as SANGHEE by the artist), who came to distinguish herself with he

July 20, 2024

Old shabby water tower in Seoul transforms to 'Rain Veil'

Anyone familiar with the Songpa-gu neighborhood of southern Seoul may be aware of the tall old water purification tower that has been left unused for the past 20 years. The 32-meter eyesore has long been a topic of discussion as to whether it should be demolished or not. The water purification tower, built in 1986, once held 600 tons of water daily for purification, however, it ceased operations in early 2004 following changes in the water supply system. Now the tower has gained new life as the

July 19, 2024

Smithsonian's Asian art museum appoints Hwang Sun-woo as Korea art curator

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has appointed Hwang Sun-woo as its inaugural Korea Foundation Curator of Korean Art and Culture. Hwang will shape a major Korean art loan exhibition scheduled for 2025–2026 with the National Museum of Korea, featuring masterworks recently donated by the family of former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Hwang was selected for the position in April, which was made possible by a matching gift from the Korea Foundation to promote Korean a

July 18, 2024

[Media Art Now] Sanghee’s gameplay revisits idea of interactivity and connectivity

Everything seems synchronized today, happening at the same time and at the same speed. You can connect yourself with the world, whenever you want and even when you do not want to. It is an age where a sense of being together is more easily obtained than a sense of being separated. But is this really true? Is the synchronicity a prerequisite or a preference when you seek to generate interactive togetherness? Sanghee (capitalized as SANGHEE by the artist), who came to distinguish herself with he

July 18, 2024

[What to See] Summer gallery hopping in Gangnam, Hannam, Samcheong

Exhibitions are in full swing for the summer. Koenig Seoul is presenting a group exhibition of female Asian artists. Gallery Hyundai is hosting a solo exhibition of Korean artist Lee Seul-gi for the first time in six years. And British artist Billy Childish's unique brush strokes and color use shown at Lehmann Maupin is another must-see exhibition this month. Female Asian artists at Koenig Seoul A group exhibition of 12 female Asian artists is on view at Koenig Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, ma

July 18, 2024

Frieze, Kiaf mark third collaboration in September

Frieze Seoul and Kiaf Seoul mark their third collaboration in early September as they bring together a variety of art programs across the city, with some 320 galleries from around the world participating. Internationally renowned art fair Frieze Seoul and the home-grown international art fair Kiaf Seoul will kick off at Coex in southern Seoul on Sept. 4. Frieze Seoul will run through Sept. 7 and Kiaf Seoul through Sept. 8. The two art fairs will co-host a talk program in collaboration with the K

July 17, 2024

Daniel Arsham gives glimpse of thousand years from now

One rarely imagines how the present world would be remembered and seen a thousand years later. American artist Daniel Arsham’s solo exhibition at Lotte Museum of Art in Seoul does just that. Arsham has shown works based on the concept of “fictional archaeology” that he created inspired by archaeologists. The artist imagines everyday objects of today as artifacts excavated in the future, creating an ambiguity about the period we inhabit. The exhibition titled “Daniel Arsha

July 16, 2024

Korean media art to be featured in Paris during summer Olympics

Korean media art will be presented in Paris in July to coincide with the 2024 Summer Olympics featuring video art founder Paik Nam-june and leading Korean contemporary media artists. The exhibition “Decoding Korea, La Coree Decodee” will be held from July 26 to Aug. 25 at the Grand Palais Immersif, an art center dedicated to digital art in Paris, hosted by the South Korean Culture Ministry and organized by the Korea Arts Management Service. A total of 18 media artworks by 11 artist

July 14, 2024

[Well-curated] Discover your perfect colors, Banksy and unique pies

Flattering colors How do you put together clothes, makeup and jewelry to look your absolute best is an everyday question for personal color consultants. They recommend colors that are flattering to you based on your complexion, draping fabric swatches across your shoulders to screen which shades -- there are numerous variations to a color -- light up or drain your face. At Color Signal in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, six such consultants -- some fluent in English or Chinese -- run personal color sessions

July 12, 2024

National Museum holds exhibition of East Asian lacquerware

The National Museum of Korea is holding a biennial joint exhibition on lacquerware as part of an effort to showcase cultural artifacts common to Korea, Japan and China that began in 2014. The exhibition entitled “Lacquerware of East Asia” opens Wednesday, featuring 46 lacquerware pieces from the NMK, the Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of China. The three countries have long used the sap of lacquer trees, which renders a durable, shiny finish once painted onto wooden ob

July 9, 2024

[Herald Interview] Illustrator’s reinterpretations of hanbok prize originality

When Wooh Na-young, a graphic designer-turned-illustrator, quit her work at an online game publisher in 2012 after a decade in the industry, she suffered an identity crisis. But she at least knew that being a game graphic designer was not fulfilling for her. “I had to find what I wanted to do or be, and hanbok caught my eyes,” Wooh said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald, explaining her love for the hanbok silhouette -- the elongated lines and broad shapes. A want for her wo

July 7, 2024

Yang Hae-gue to have first UK survey show at Hayward Gallery

Internationally renowned Korean artist Yang Hae-gue will have her first major museum exhibition in the UK at the Hayward Gallery in October, surveying her artistic practice from the early 2000s to date. The exhibition at the gallery located on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, “Haegue Yang: Leap Year,” arranged in five thematic sections, will include three new commissions for the exhibition as well as some of her most notable series: “Light Sculptures,” &ldquo

July 4, 2024

Dutch state museum shows Korean Buddha statue for first time

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is showing an 18th-century Korean Buddha statue, its first showing of a Buddha statue from Korea. Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, on loan from the National Museum of Korea, will be displayed at the Asian Pavilion of the Rijksmuseum for two years, through May 2026. Korea’s state-run museum arranged the loan as part of efforts to help museums around the world establish a more diverse collection of Korean artifacts, the museum said Wednesday. Avalokiteshvara Bodhisat

July 3, 2024

Gagosian to show Derrick Adams at gallery's first Seoul exhibition

Gagosian, one of the largest international galleries today, will hold its debut exhibition in South Korea in September, presenting new works by multidisciplinary artist Derrick Adams, whose work expands narratives of Black life and culture. The exhibition “Derrick Adams: The Strip” will kick off Sept. 3 at APMA Cabinet, a project space on the ground floor of the Amorepacific Headquarters in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. The exhibition will coincide with the third edition of Frieze Seoul

July 2, 2024

Virtual tour recaps Notre Dame history ahead of reopening

An exhibition exploring highlights of Notre Dame Cathedral’s history ahead of its reopening in December following an April 2019 fire will run through Sept. 1 at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul. The exhibition, “Notre-Dame de Paris, the Augmented Exhibition: 850 Years of History and Resilience at Your Fingertips,” offers an immersive and interactive experience, explained Bruno de Sa Moreira, CEO and co-founder of Histovery, a French startup that specializes in augme

July 1, 2024

Artist Aatchim turns limited vision into art with silk

Gladstone Gallery in Seoul is currently showing the first solo exhibition of emerging Korean artist Kim Jo-eun, who goes by Aatchim as her pseudonym. Aatchim explores silk as her artistic medium, often depicting compassionate scenes in which the subjects provide comfort to others with warm gestures or embraces. Aatchim channels her congenital eye condition – intermittent strabismus, a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned -- into her artistic drive. Her visual experiences

June 30, 2024

[Weekender] Traces of war, migration, otherness everywhere at Venice Biennale

VENICE, Italy -- Depending on where you live, you may or may not directly feel the effects of the world's wars in your daily life. But you will gain a stronger awareness of them walking around the Giardini in Venice, one of the main sites of the Venice Biennale, the world's oldest international art biennial. Though the Venice Biennale attracts artists, curators and art aficionados every other year -- an architecture biennale is held on alternate years -- this year feels different, with

June 29, 2024

Winners of CICI's New Korea Ideas competition revealed

A proposal inspired by the aesthetic beauty of Hangeul won the top prize in a competition of new ideas to represent Korea, organized by the Corea Image Communication Institute as part of its 15th Culture Communication Forum, held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, Monday. Also at the event, an AI-generated image of a Korean person wearing a blend of traditional and modern clothing won the grand prize in the Korea Image Created by AI Contest. The winners were selected through online voting by the forum pa

June 25, 2024