Ho-Am Art Museum returns with traditional metal works, fall foliage

The Ho-Am Art Museum in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, has returned with the new exhibition “Metallurgy: Great Wisdom” and its formal garden, Hee Won, in its full autumnal glory. The museum run by the Samsung Foundation of Culture was founded in 1982 to house traditional Korean art collected by Lee Byung-chull, founder of Samsung Group. Named for Lee’s pseudonym, Hoam, the museum boasts a garden by Korea’s first-generation landscape architect Jung Young-sun inspired by tr

Nov. 8, 2021

[Herald Interview] Dominique Perrault calls on architects to be conductors

French architect Donique Perrault has been advocating for more important roles for architects over the past several years. As the general director of the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2021, he brought together 190 architects and artists from across the world under the theme of the “Crossroads, Building the Resilient City.” “In my opinion, many people consider architects less important today, while they demand engineers, landscape experts and environmentalists

Nov. 3, 2021

Painter-poet Choi Wook-kyung invites us to her art ‘wonderland’

Korean abstract artist Choi Wook-kyung pioneered an abstract art of her own from the 1960s to the 1980s when female artists did not receive much attention in Korea. Traveling back and forth between Korea and the US, Choi established her own painting style without being involved in any of the art movements of the times. Born in 1940, Choi studied painting at Seoul National University and went to the US in 1963 in pursuit of expanding her art world.  The exhibition “Wook-kyung Cho

Nov. 1, 2021

Biggest-ever Daegu Art Fair to kick off next week

Korean art collectors are turning their eyes to Daegu, a two-hour KTX trip from Seoul, for the upcoming Daegu Art Fair 2021 as local art fairs continue to ride the unexpected wave of popularity in the art market. Daegu Art Fair 2021, considered the third major art fair in the country along with KIAF Seoul and Art Busan, kicks off on Nov. 4 at Exco. Galleries Association of Daegu, who has hosted the fair since 2008, is jointly organizing this year’s edition with the Galleries Association

Oct. 30, 2021

Gwangju art fair explores metaverse exhibition for first time

The Gwangju International Art Fair 2021 opened Thursday featuring artists based in the city, including a metaverse exhibition, to help them promote artworks virtually and in person amid growing public interest in art. With 70 galleries from home and abroad taking part, the city’s major art fair will run until Sunday at the Kimdaejung Convention Center, showcasing works from 535 artists. With growing attention to the art market, the annual art fair is presenting special booths to intro

Oct. 30, 2021

Media art-centric Ulsan Museum of Art to open in January

Ulsan Museum of Art will open early next year as the first major art museum in the eighth-largest city in South Korea. The museum will specialize in digital media art, encompassing the fast-evolving digital art genre. The museum, which is now in the final stage of construction, will open on Jan. 6 with five inaugural exhibitions. They include an exhibition of the museum’s permanent collection and the thematic exhibition “Post Nature.” Seventy artists from 14 countries will b

Oct. 27, 2021

Gallery Hyundai’s Patrick Lee to step down, take on new role at Frieze Seoul

Patrick Lee, executive director of Gallery Hyundai in Seoul, will step down from his post and direct the art fair Frieze Seoul starting in November, according to the gallery. Frieze Seoul will be held in early September 2022 at Coex in southern Seoul, alongside KIAF Seoul, South Korea’s largest international art fair. As director of Frieze Seoul, Lee will take charge of organizing the event. Seoul is the first Asian city to host a Frieze art fair. Lee, who previously led One and J. Ga

Oct. 27, 2021

How Italy’s culture of art patronage continues shown in Seoul

Renaissance art flourished in 14th-century Florence on the back of powerful patrons, and art patronage by businesses continues to play a pivotal role in Italian art. The exhibition “We Love Art. Vision and Creativity Made in Italy” organized by the Italian Institute of Culture and the Embassy of Italy in Seoul on Wednesday, aims to show how businesses’ art patronage functions today. The exhibition of eight works by emerging Italian artists supported by the country’s cor

Oct. 25, 2021

British artist Julian Opie’s animal sculptures, Incheon-inspired work unveiled at Kukje Gallery

British artist Julian Opie is presenting his third solo exhibition at Kukje Gallery in Seoul, after two solo exhibitions in the country in 2017 and 2018. Inspired by familiar subjects from everyday life, Opie presents 31 works that span the gallery’s K2 and K3 exhibition halls, as well as its garden. The artist became well known in South Korea after he made a strong presence in Seoul in 2011 with his light-emitting diode art piece “Crowd,” displayed via Seoul Square’s l

Oct. 24, 2021

Korea Artist Prize finalists shows at MMCA explore contemporary issues

Four Korean promising artists unveiled their works at the exhibition “Korea Artist Prize 2021” at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Seoul. The final winner of the exhibition -- to be chosen by a jury -- will be announced early next year. The four artists– Kim Sang-jin, Bang Jeong-a, Oh Min and Choi Chan-sook -- are showing works that were newly commissioned for the exhibition, and reveal their concerns as artists. Choi Chan-sook has focused on l

Oct. 23, 2021

Before Lee Kun-hee collection, there was Lee Hong-kun collection

A special exhibition “Remembering Lee Hong-kun in the Autumn of 2021” is being held at the Lee Hong-kun Gallery of the National Museum of Korea. The exhibition, which will run through the end of this year, is being held to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of donator Lee Hong-kun’s exhibition hall at NMK back in 1981. “At the time, 4,941 artworks were thought to have been donated,” NMK curator Lee Su-kyung said. After receiving them, the museum sort

Oct. 20, 2021

20-year-old KIAF Seoul records largest-ever sales

The annual KIAF Seoul closed Sunday, attracting a record number of visitors and sales during the five-day fair at Coex in southern Seoul. Marking its 20th anniversary, the fair has become the hottest festival in the country among art fans, attracting interest in art among the general public. Around 5,000 people visited on the first day of the “VVIP” opening, raising 35 billion won ($29.5 million) in sales, surpassing the total sales of 31 billion won in 2019 when the fair was held p

Oct. 18, 2021

Lee Bul's rare paintings, silk collage works unveiled in Seoul

While Lee Bul is globally known for her installations best represented by the Cyborg and Anagram series, the mixed media paintings that she has been pursuing on the side are relatively unknown. Referring to the pieces as being between sculpture and painting, they are an extension of her sculpture work. Lee’s newly created Perdu series painted with acrylic, ground stones and mother-of pearl were repeatedly layered using a brush and then scrubbed to create a sculpture-like texture. Lee di

Oct. 17, 2021

[Eye Plus] Into the world of Goryeo celadon

A rare exhibition is taking place in the country’s eastern coastal city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province.  More than 120 exquisite celadon ceramics from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), known locally as cheongja, are on display at “Celadon, the Microscopic World of Goryeo.”  Renowned for its subtle and elegant beauty, various shapes and sizes of celadon ceramics, which get their name from their mystic blue-green glaze, trace the untold story of the kingdom that flourish

Oct. 16, 2021

[Herald Interview] Korean Pavilion will ‘ring a bell’ at next year’s Venice Biennale: Lee Young-chul

When Lee Young-chul, an art professor at Kaywon University of Art & Design, proposed to direct the Korean Pavilion for the next year’s Venice Biennale, he felt like the Korean Pavilion should “ring a bell” at the biennale after the world has been going through the pandemic turmoil. The idea came to him while he was arranging his bookshelves and reencountered the book “La Citta del Sole (The City of the Sun),” by Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639), who was an Itali

Oct. 16, 2021

Female graduates of Hongik University art school celebrate perseverance at 40th anniversary show

In the 1970s, when it was still a struggle for South Korean women to establish art careers, a group of female students from the Hongik University College of Fine Arts gathered together to break stereotypes and defy conservative social norms. In 1982 they formed Hongik Women Artists Association and held an exhibition, which has continued every year uninterrupted for 40 years. Now the 40-year anniversary exhibition -- “Hongik Root Now! Again!” -- is running at the Hongik Museum of A

Oct. 15, 2021

[Herald Design Forum 2021] What architects can do in post-pandemic era

Ray Winkler, design director of Stufish Entertainment Architects, and British architect Amanda Jane Levete on Thursday shared their visions on what changes the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the field of architecture and what architects can do in the post-pandemic era at the Herald Design Forum 2021. Winkler showed a glimpse into how architecture can adapt accordingly with the changes brought by the pandemic, while Levete showed what values architecture should continue to pursue. “Tec

Oct. 14, 2021

[Herald Design Forum 2021] Herald Design Forum ponders ‘What comes after?’

Emerging from the darkest days of the pandemic, many countries, including South Korea, are now talking about “life with COVID-19.” It is against this backdrop that the Herald Design Forum brought together some of the world’s most renowned designers, architects and artists with the aptly themed title of “What comes after.” “Mankind is now in its way into the post-COVID-19 era. Things will greatly change and the field of design is not an exception. The latest

Oct. 14, 2021

Korea’s largest art fair is back -- and there are more art lovers than ever

As the opening of KIAF Seoul 2021 at 3 p.m. on Wednesday drew near, there was already a long line of avid art lovers of various ages waiting to check in at Coex in southern Seoul. Korea’s largest annual international art fair is being held physically for the first time after it went online on its viewing room platform after the global COVID-19 pandemic hit early last year. Nearly 5,000 people visited the fair on the first day, which was open to VVIPs and the press, proving that people

Oct. 14, 2021

BTS’ V makes appearance at KIAF Seoul 2021

BTS’ V was spotted by a Korea Herald reporter Wednesday evening at KIAF Seoul 2021, South Korea’s largest international art fair being held at Coex in southern Seoul. V, wearing a Louis Vuitton jacket and a cap, was seen strolling around the exhibition hall. When the reporter approached him and asked if he was V from BTS, he first denied it: “Nope, no I am not.” After a few seconds of eye contact, he said, “Sorry, yes, I am.” He made a 90-degree bow and

Oct. 14, 2021