PKM Gallery, one of the leading commercial galleries in South Korea, is offering two exhibitions of artists with whom it has long-standing relationships: British contemporary artist Toby Ziegler and Korean sculptor Kwon Jin-kyu. The gallery, located in Samcheong-dong in northern Seoul, brought together works by the two artists in separate exhibitions, “Toby Ziegler, Broken Images” and “Kwon Jin Kyu: The Reliefs.” Ziegler has shown his works at the Seoul-based gallery ever

Arts & Design Nov. 24, 2023

Two Korean entrepreneurs – Kim Woong-ki and Seo Kyung-bae -- were listed on the annual Top 200 Collectors list published by ARTnews for its 2023 edition. Kim, chairman of Global Sae-A Group, an apparel manufacturing conglomerate, became known in the global art scene when it was revealed in 2022 that Kim was the winning bidder for modern art master Kim Whan-ki’s painting titled "Universe 5-IV-71 #200" at a Christie’s Hong Kong auction in 2019. It marked the highest p

Culture Nov. 22, 2023

The Leeum Museum of Art will launch a long-term public program entitled “Idea Museum: Ecological Turns” in conjunction with Chanel Culture Fund to explore diverse ways ecological issues can be made part of art institution practices, convening leading international and Korean artists, academics and designers, among others. The three-year project will evolve around themes such as the climate crisis, sustainability, ecology, women, care and education through seminars, film screenings an

Arts & Design Nov. 22, 2023

David Rappeneau’s drawings are peculiarly attractive. Some younger audiences may find the images familiar as they view young men and women smoking or looking at a smartphone screen in a sketchy part of town. The subjects in Rappeneau's work look free, but for some reason, they also appear to be lonely or in agony. Not much is known about Rappeneau, who has remained enigmatic since emerging in the art world in 2014 as a provocative illustrator. What is known so far is that Rappeneau is

Arts & Design Nov. 20, 2023

Hong Kong-based gallery Villepin dusted off paintings by Korean artist Kang Myong-hi spanning from her early works from the 1970s to more recent ones for an exhibition in Seoul. Founded by former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and his son Arthur, the gallery opened in 2019 in Hong Kong. During his time as a diplomat, Dominique regularly met with artists from across the globe and Arthur grew up surrounded by them. The father and son's relationship with Kang dates back three deca

Arts & Design Nov. 19, 2023

Cozy, warm tearoom in Huam-dong For imbibers of among the oldest aromatic beverages, a cozy and quiet place to enjoy afternoon tea time can be found in Huam-dong in Yongsan, central Seoul. TeaRoom Rossetti is a small, friendly place where the owner offers freshly baked scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Try the afternoon tea set that includes hand-made sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and madeleines served for at least two people. If you plan to visit alone, the tearoom has an

Culture Nov. 17, 2023

SHANGHAI – International visitors returned to Shanghai’s West Bund, located on the west bank of the Huangpu River that runs north to south through Shanghai, where the 10th edition of the West Bund Art & Design fair took place from Nov. 9 through Sunday. The city’s flagship art fair and one of the leading art events in all of China, taking place at the West Bund Art Center and West Bund Dome, drew the participation of some 190 galleries, including Gagosian, Hauser&Wi

Arts & Design Nov. 15, 2023

British interdisciplinary artist Jane Benson applies her systematic interventions into existing works of literature and art. She interprets, combines and collapses sentences from written works, which are then created into other forms of art. At the exhibition “Dodo Note...” at Gallery Shilla in Seoul which closed Sunday, the artist unveiled new works that encompass several different forms of art -- from sculptures, sound, drawings and prints to installations. Benson took sentences fr

Arts & Design Nov. 14, 2023

The Korea Artist Prize has returned after the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea pledged to improve the 11-year-old annual artist award, strengthening the judge system and curation in order to present finalist artists’ practices in a deeper and more holistic way. The four artists who were announced as finalists for the prize -- Kwon Byung-jun, Gala Porras-Kim, Lee Kang-seung and Jun So-jung – unveiled their recent works at the exhibition, “Korea Artist Prize

Arts & Design Nov. 10, 2023

Artist Jun So-jung engages in many different art genres from sculptures, sound to digital art, transcending time and borders. At Barakat Contemporary in Seoul where her solo exhibition is being held through Jan. 4, 2024, the artist crosses seamlessly between the virtual world and reality. The exhibition “Overtone,” the artist’s first solo show at the gallery, features her new three-channel video that documents the journey of Park Soon-a, a Korean Japanese gayageum player who ha

Arts & Design Nov. 10, 2023

Gangnam Intermodal Transit Center is more than just an underground transportation station that will house three high-speed train lines and two subway stations in southern Seoul. For acclaimed architect Dominique Perrault, it is more of a social project. “It is not a project to build an underground tunnel. Architecture is part of culture. The space should be a quality public space where people want to come, not a damp and dark underground space,” the architect said in an interview wit

Arts & Design Nov. 6, 2023

This weekend may be the last chance to see the red and gold fall foliage at its peak in Seoul. N Seoul Tower is where you can enjoy the autumn colors while hiking the trail to the tower on top of Namsan. If you arrive at the top at night, you can enjoy panoramic views of central Seoul as well as check out Namsan Octagonal Pavilion. On top of N Seoul Tower is n.Grill, a French restaurant that offers a prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner. The restaurant rotates, giving a complete 360-degree panora

Culture Nov. 3, 2023

The inaugural design and art fair, Define Seoul, kicked off Wednesday, bringing together some 25 galleries and design brands from home and abroad in Seongsu-dong, one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Seoul, home to hip cafes, intriguing pop-up stores and shops. “Seoul is garnering unprecedented international recognition as one of the major art centers. Define Seoul encapsulates the idea of connecting design and fine art while redefining the way we perceive and engage with art,” said

Arts & Design Nov. 2, 2023

Online non-fungible token art trading platform ArtToken and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have signed a memorandum of understanding to push for projects integrated with art and technology. The MOU between KAIST’s Graduate School of Culture Technology and ArtToken, inked on Thursday, aims to foster collaboration in the fields of art and technology such as coding art, interactive art and NFT art based on blockchain technology. Based in Seoul, ArtToken has organized proje

People Oct. 31, 2023

To Swiss art collector, businessperson and former diplomat Uli Sigg, who is known for having an extensive private collection of contemporary Chinese art, collecting art in a meaningful way allows one to understand a society, and collectors supporting artists and museums enables them to develop and function better. “The most important quality a collector has to build is to find a focus that will distinguish a collection from a mere accumulation of works. I collect artworks as I find this th

Arts & Design Oct. 30, 2023