American Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe was an icon of American society, challenging the world with his bold and proactive works that featured the bodies of women, Black men and the LGBT community in the 1970s and 1980s. The exhibition “Robert Mapplethorpe: More Life,” held at Kukje Gallery’s Seoul and Busan venues, is the first solo exhibition of the artist’s work in Korea. The show runs through March 28. Born in 1946, Mapplethorpe created print editions from ove

Arts & Design March 1, 2021

The Galleries Art Fair 2021 -- Korea’s first art fair of the year -- will kick off on Wednesday with a showcase of more than 3,000 artworks. The oldest art fair in Korea will be held for five days at Coex in southern Seoul under strict preventative measures, according to the Galleries of Association Korea. The VIP opening is scheduled for March 3 and the general opening will take place from March 4 to 7. Despite the pandemic situation, 500 artists from 107 galleries in Korea, which are

Arts & Design Feb. 28, 2021

The 13th Gwangju Biennale -- South Korea’s largest art biennale, which has become a major art event in Asia -- was previewed Wednesday at the Biennale Hall with the unveiling of a few of its commissioned works. Artistic directors Natasha Ginwala and Defne Ayas, based respectively in Sri Lanka and Germany, summarized the progress of the biennale ahead of its opening April 1. As suggested by the theme of the 13th edition of the biennale -- “Minds Rising, Spirits Tuning” -- the

Arts & Design Feb. 27, 2021

The Seoul Fashion Week is embarking on a digital fashion event for the 2021 fall-winter season with 45 fashion brands participating, after a similar online event for the spring-summer season in October. The 2021 fall-winter Seoul Fashion Week will run March 22-27 on the digital platform. A total of 45 fashion designers were selected to join the show -- 28 established designers for the Seoul Collection show and 17 rookie designers for Generation Next. While the number of rookie designers has

Arts & Design Feb. 22, 2021

Kang, a 65-year-old resident of Gyeonggi Province, had an eye lift surgery three years ago to restore her vision and to give herself a younger appearance before she got any older. “I am very satisfied with the surgery because it made me look younger and more lively. I strongly recommend that my friends get the operation if they want to,” Kang said. “I also have a friend who recently got a face lift surgery to look younger.” Kang and her friend are among the growing num

Culture Feb. 20, 2021

Painter Yun Suk-nam, who has dedicated her career to creating art advocating women’s rights, is showcasing new portraits of female independence activists during the Japanese colonial era who have long been neglected by historians because of their gender. The portraits of the female activists are on display at the exhibition titled “Women of Resistance, Becoming Historic -- Portraits of 14 Female Independence Activists Who Quaked History” at Hakgojae Gallery in Seoul.  Eac

Arts & Design Feb. 20, 2021

Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuna based in New York is showcasing her first solo exhibition in Asia at Lehman Maupin in Seoul. The 73-year-old artist is also an activist who advocates human rights issues and stands against the cultural homogenization phenomenon associated with globalization reflect this through her artwork. The exhibition title “Quipu Girok” is a combination of the ancient Andean word quipu, which means a knot, and the Korean word girok, which means record. 

Arts & Design Feb. 19, 2021

The 1930s and the 1940s were the golden age of Korean literature and art. The two genres flourished together, even as writers and artists faced the challenges of harsh Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945), which sought to suppress Korean culture. The bleak years saw lively interaction among painters, novelists and poets who inspired each other. Some would gather at Jebi, a coffee shop in what was then Gyeongseong, now called Seoul, run by Yi Sang, the country’s representative modern writer

Arts & Design Feb. 15, 2021

Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is embarking on an experimental journey with a new project to show how two seemingly different fields can collaborate by intertwining contemporary art with cutting-edge technology. Taking the theme of “Multiverse,” the national museum’s new project will introduce six rising and established artists and their artworks that adopt various technologies including immersive technology, robots that substitute the kinetic cap

Arts & Design Feb. 14, 2021

Hangwa, or traditional Korean confections, and rice cakes are essential snacks during the Korean lunar new year holiday. After a memorial service for ancestors and sharing meals with the family, traditional desserts are enjoyed with tea. While Korean desserts have been mainly relished during the traditional holidays, they are becoming more diverse and enjoying popularity among younger generation with creative visuals. “Korean desserts come in a wide variety as customers expect visual

Culture Feb. 13, 2021

The kinetic and sonic sculptures by globally acclaimed installation artist Yang Hae-gue are being performed throughout February at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, where her fifth solo exhibition in Korea “MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2020: Haegue Yang - O2 & H2O” is underway.  A total of 9 pieces of the artist’s kinetic sculptures including “Sonic Domesticus,” “Sonic Clotheshorse” and “Sonic Ropes” will be ac

Arts & Design Feb. 6, 2021

The Nam June Paik Art Center is using augmented-reality technology to introduce the masterpieces of Paik Nam-june, a South Korean-born artist who is known globally as the founder of video art. “We tested AR service operation last year and have decided to implement the system,” an official from the art center said. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the application of the technology, he said. Starting Thursday, the world’s sole art center dedicated to Paik -- home to s

Arts & Design Feb. 5, 2021

While the coronavirus has closed borders and restricted travel, virtual space remains wide open, offering new possibilities. Taking advantage of such possibilities is the online exhibition platform “Manifold,” which introduces emerging Korean artists to the international arts scene at a time when the pandemic hinders in-person exhibitions. Manifold is part of the Korea Arts Management Service’s Grant for Artists Management’s project, begun in 2019, that aims to suppo

Arts & Design Feb. 3, 2021

The sole public museum dedicated to Korea’s modern artist Lee Jung-seop has decided to adopt “Lee Jung-seop” as the artist’s official name in English. This means the museum, located on Jeju Island, will change its current name -- Lee Jung-seob Gallery -- to one using the current romanization. For decades, various organizations and exhibitions have used many different romanizations of Lee’s name. “We have long recognized the need to decide on the English

Arts & Design Feb. 3, 2021