80-year-old rebel artist Sung Neung-kyung covers art with aluminum foils

Sung Neung-kyung pioneered South Korea’s avant-garde art in the 1970s as a conceptual artist, when many other artists in the scene at the time were involved in speaking out against the dictator-led government through their art. Sung created rebellious art using newspapers that were censored at the time. The 1970s was a time when the Korean art scene was a mixture of different art genres – Dansaekhwa, or Korea’s monochrome-style paintings; Minjung art, or paintings that criticiz

March 13, 2023

Ahn Jong-yuen explores 'art of light' at show held by Herald Auction, ArtToken

The solo exhibition of installation artist Ahn Jong-yuen, who has explored -- and played with -- light throughout her artistic career opens Wednesday at Summit Gallery in southern Seoul. The exhibition titled, “Skywalk, Lightwalker: Time for Walking the Sky and Light,” is jointly organized by Herald Auction and ArtToken, and will run through March 15. Ahn has been dubbed an “artist of light” for her works that use LED lighting and media art inspired by light. Born in 1952

March 9, 2023

Artist Jung Yeon-doo chosen for MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2023

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has selected Jung Yeon-doo as the artist featured in its MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2023, in recognition of his art that hovers between reality and illusion and casts a critical look on various social issues. Jung has explored various artistic media, including photographs, performances and installations, creating art that provokes curiosity about the relationship between reality and illusion. His “DMZ Theater” shown at MMCA

March 8, 2023

MMCA to pay tribute to the late Peter Weibel in Seoul

Conceptual artist Peter Weibel, who had pioneered media art as a theorist and curator since the 1960s, died on Wednesday. He was 78. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, which is hosting an ongoing exhibition by Weibel, announced Friday it will set up a space dedicated to the artist, allowing visitors to pay tribute to him until May 14. Weibel’s exhibition, “respectively, Peter Weibel. Art as an Act of Cognition,” that opened on Feb. 3 became the artist&

March 3, 2023

12th Seoul Mediacity Biennale with theme of 'This Too, is a Map' aims to redefine diaspora

Seoul Museum of Art announced Friday that this September's Seoul Mediacity Biennale would aim to redefine the concepts of migration, diaspora and languages. Titled “This Too, is a Map,” this year's edition of the contemporary art event will be helmed by artistic director Rachael Rakes. The artistic director of the 12th biennale was selected through an open call process for the first time in an effort to embrace diversity, organizers said. The artistic director had previous

March 3, 2023

K-Auction to fundraise for children affected by Turkey-Syria earthquakes

K-Auction, a major art auctioneer in South Korea, will host an online charity auction starting Saturday to help children affected by the earthquakes that killed at least 50,000 people in Turkey and northwest Syria last month. The charity auction will run through March 14 jointly with the Seoul-based nonprofit AIF Children, offering 100 works by 76 artists who have agreed to help. Between 50 to 100 percent of the profits from the auctioned item, except for some fees that will go to the artists an

March 3, 2023

Playing with irony, Lee Won-woo's dad jokes are turned into art

When life doesn't turn out the way you expect, you might actually end up laughing about it all, having been pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Lee Won-woo is an artist who captures this sentiment in his work, playing with irony and poking fun at life with his art in a lighthearted and humorous way. “I think I enjoy seeking out the funny aspects of things,” Lee said, gesturing as if digging into something with his index finger while talking with reporters Tuesday at the PKM

March 2, 2023

Gucci’s love affair with historical places leads to show at Gyeongbokgung

Italian luxury brand Gucci will finally stage its first-ever major runway show in Seoul in May after “Gucci Cosmogonie Collection Seoul,” scheduled to take place at Gyeongbokgung on Nov. 1, was canceled following the crowd crush tragedy in Itaewon on Oct. 29. The Cultural Heritage Administration’s committee of royal palaces, tombs and other heritage sites said it has granted conditional approval for Gucci to hold a fashion show near Gyeongbokgung's Geunjeongjeon Hall fro

March 1, 2023

Media artist Kim Hee-cheon wins 20th Hermes Foundation Missulsang

Media artist Kim Hee-cheon has won the 20th Hermes Foundation Missulsang, Hermes Korea announced Monday. The foundation awards a rising Korean artist every two years to support their artistic career, offering a solo exhibition at the nonprofit Atelier Hermes gallery in Seoul located at the building of the luxury brand’s flagship store. “Kim Hee-cheon’s work deals with some of the most challenging and urgent questions of our age of digital domination, especially the questions of

March 1, 2023

Luxury megabrands recruit K-pop icons

Blackpink member Jisoo graces the cover of Vogue France’s March issue, the first K-pop musician to do so. "Jisoo is a new generation pop culture icon,” the French magazine proclaimed. The 28-year-old girl group member is shown wearing a black ribbed linen dress with a floral motif from Dior. She has been Dior’s global ambassador since March 2021. On Monday, Vogue France Editor-in-Chief Eugenie Trochu shared a screenshot of the magazine’s crashed website in an Insta

Feb. 28, 2023

[Herald Interview] Leaving pixels behind, Hong Seung-hye transports you to a world 'over the rainbow'

Hong Seung-hye is an artist who continuously expands her artistic horizons. Twenty-six years after discovering the artistic potential of computer pixels, she has transcended to a new dimension in her craft, inviting others to explore the captivating world of her latest creations. Hong named the exhibition “Over the Layers II” at the Kukje Gallery, reminiscing about the song “Over the Rainbow” from the film “The Wizard of Oz.” The latest show is the second iter

Feb. 28, 2023

Dansaekhwa master Park Seo-bo, diagnosed with lung cancer, has more painting to do

Korean contemporary art master Park Seo-bo has revealed that he was recently diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer, showing perseverance as a painter at the same time in saying he is full of passion and wants to focus on painting for the rest of his life. “I try to walk and exercise a lot. This is not to live longer, rather, to paint more. I have lived enough, but I still have things that I wish to paint. I want to spend this time more meaningfully,” Park wrote on social media on Th

Feb. 26, 2023

Hwang Dal-sung barely maintains grasp on Galleries Association of Korea by one vote

Hwang Dal-sung, president of Keumsan Gallery, was reelected as president of the Galleries Association of Korea on Thursday, renewing his position for another two years, defeating rival candidate Do Hyung-teh, president of Gallery Hyundai, by only one vote, according to the association. The two-way election, conducted Thursday afternoon at the Westin Josun Seoul, turned out to be so competitive that Hwang barely maintained his position, earning 69 votes against Doh's 68. The association re

Feb. 23, 2023

Artist Lee Hae-eun creates handcrafted works with traditional Korean paper

Artist Lee Hae-eun has produced a variety of bags and shoes using "hanji," traditional Korean paper made from mulberry bark. Delving into the world of traditional paper, she quickly learned how unique hanji is compared to paper from other Asian countries. “Hanji is durable, preservable and has good ventilation compared to ‘hwaji,’ Japanese mulberry paper or ‘seonji,’ Chinese mulberry paper, which have their own characteristics,” Lee said at a forum o

Feb. 22, 2023

[Herald Interview] Two Korea’s Demilitarized Zone unfolds at Google Arts & Culture

Soon after regaining its sovereignty following 35 years of Japanese colonial rule, Korea was faced with yet another tragedy – a war between the two Koreas in 1950. The war, which broke out as North Korea invaded the South, came to a halt with the Armistice Agreement signed on July 27, 1953. The cease-fire included a 238-kilometer-long military demarcation line with a 2-kilometer-wide buffer zone on each side along the entire length, known as the Demilitarized Zone. The DMZ remains intact,

Feb. 22, 2023

Barakat Contemporary to introduce leading artists at Art Dubai

Seoul-based gallery Barakat Contemporary will participate in Art Dubai 2023 next month, showing leading artists the gallery represents from home and abroad. The five-day event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which launches on March 1, will display works of art from more than 400 artists in 40 countries across four sections: Contemporary, Modern, Bawwaba -- meaning "gateway" in Arabic -- and Digital. It is open to the public from March 3 to 5. Among the 72 galleries participating in the

Feb. 21, 2023

Chung Zu-young's 'meteorology' shows contemporary Korean landscape paintings

Gallery Hyundai presents a solo exhibition of Korean painter Chung Zu-young, unveiling the artist’s new painting series inspired by mountains and meteorology. The artist had long been enamored by mountains, but now turns her eye higher to the sky. “Last summer the weather changed dramatically, and it was extremely hot and rainy. I saw a big storm cloud, or maybe a pillar of clouds after it stop raining. It just seemed like a symbolic huge storm cloud with a unique form. I wanted to

Feb. 18, 2023

Art libraries for families, art lovers open in Seoul, Gwacheon

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea and Buk-Seoul Museum of Art have reopened their art libraries after renovating and expanding their facilities to invite museum-goers to stay and enjoy the reading spaces. MMCA Gwachon in Gyeonggi Province has run its art library since 1986 with over 6,000 books and archival sources. Resuming its operation on Feb. 13, the museum’s library now holds some 52,800 books and documents on art, with the aim of growing as a library special

Feb. 17, 2023

K-pop singer Eric Nam to headline Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art’s centennial show

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has announced South Korean singer-songwriter Eric Nam will take the stage as the headline performer at the museum’s centennial celebration in May. The museum was established in 1923 with an initial collection by its founder Charles Lang Freer, of which the collection has grown to some 46,000 artworks. The museum became the first fine art museum to be part of a Smithsonian institution in Washington, DC in 1923. In celebration of the museu

Feb. 17, 2023

Christie's, Seoul Auction bring together prominent Korean works in Seoul

Christie’s and Seoul Auction will put up prominent Korean works for auction, unveiling them to the public during the preview session in February at the auctioneers’ spaces in Seoul. The British auctioneer will present a white porcelain moon jar from the 18th century Joseon era, owned by a Japanese collector. The porcelain is expected to sell for between $1 million to $2 million. A moon jar is known as the representative type of porcelain from the Joseon era, made from two separate pi

Feb. 16, 2023