[Venice Biennale 2022] Chun Kwang-young perseveres with making hanji packages

VENICE, Italy -- The sound of a heartbeat reverberates inside a dark room where a large hanji sculpture sits. Sitting near the sculpture, you will notice that heartbeat is irregular, leading you to wonder if your own heart is healthy. Chun Kwang-young has stubbornly pursued his art with hanji over the past 30 years. His perseverance as an artist is being recognized at a collateral exhibition of the 59th Venice Biennale titled “Chun Kwang Young: Times Reimagined” at Palazzo Contari

April 27, 2022

[Venice Biennale 2022] ‘The Milk of Dreams’ breaks barriers of human cognition

VENICE, Italy -- Taking place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has become a turning point for many people, the 59th edition of Venice Biennale feels special, forcing us to think differently about life and things that we have taken for granted. This year’s international art exhibition, titled “The Milk of Dreams,” was curated by Cecilia Alemani and features works by 213 artists from 58 countries. The artists’ new works are presented at the biennale’s two main ven

April 25, 2022

[Venice Biennale 2022] Venice exhibition highlights Korean contemporary artist Ha Chong-hyun

VENICE, Italy – Coinciding with the Venice Biennale 2022, a retrospective of Korean contemporary artist Ha Chong-hyun is on display at Palazzetto Tito, a historical palace located in Dorsoduro, southeastern Venice. The exhibit includes rarely-seen early paintings with creative experimentation from the renowned 86-year-old artist. The retrospective is a collateral event of the 59th Venice Biennale and is held jointly by La Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, the Seoul-based Kukje Gallery and

April 25, 2022

Gen Z fuels Y2K fashion revival

Fashion trends constantly change but they also come back full circle every two or three decades, backed by generational changes as well as fashion designers taking inspiration from old trends to translate them into “modern” styles. Y2K era fashion trends from the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s were seen on the runways at many spring-summer 2022 shows and Generation Z -- those born between mid-1990s to early 2010s -- can’t seem to get enough. Y2K fashion was a fad among ce

April 22, 2022

[Venice Biennale 2022] ‘Gyre’ at Korean Pavilion questions absolute power

VENICE, Italy -- As the 59th Venice Biennale kicked off Wednesday, 80 national pavilions unveiled their shows at the Giardini, a waterfront park located on the eastern edge of Venice, bringing art that resonates with the world today. The opening of the international art exhibition, which was delayed a year due to the pandemic, drew art-craving crowds waiting in long lines to enter the park. Entering the Giardini, one may notice a huge change at the 59th edition of the art exhibition -- an e

April 21, 2022

Tongyeong Triennale vivifies coastal city's 420-year history of craftsmanship

TONGYEONG, South Gyeongsang Province -- On the southern coast of South Korea is a cozy and quiet port city called Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang Province. The small port city with a population of 126,000, including some 570 islets, is known as the home to great cultural figures such as composer Yun I-sang, novelist Park Kyong-ni and poet Kim Choon-su. It is little known, however, that the city has a long history of craftsmanship and was a mecca for producing craftwork during the Joseon era (1

April 18, 2022

Kansong Art Museum reopens after seven years, pledges not to put collection up for auction

Kansong Art Museum, South Korea’s oldest private museum, opened its doors for the first time since 2014 on Saturday. The current show is the last chance to view an exhibition at the historic venue before restoration on the 85-year-old main building begins. The museum had remained closed since the fall of 2014 as it became difficult to accommodate visitors in the aging facility. From 1972 to 2014, the museum held exhibitions twice a year, each highly anticipated exhibition drawing lar

April 17, 2022

Dior set to ink Ewha University partnership before 1st runway show

French luxury fashion house Christian Dior and Ewha Womans University in Seoul will sign a partnership agreement at the end of April to jointly foster the next generation of women leaders, according to officials. “The detailed content of the partnership was set in March. But the ceremony is likely to take place sometime this month ahead of the (Dior) show,” an official at Ewha Womans University told The Korea Herald. The fashion company approached the university, expressing intere

April 13, 2022

Lee Kun-hee collection exhibition extended to June

The exhibition of art bequeathed to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea by the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee will run for another two months, the museum announced Tuesday. This is the second extension of the special exhibition “MMCA Lee Kun-hee Collection: Masterpieces of Korean Art,” which opened July 21, 2021. The exhibition will now come to a close on June 6. Some of the most outstanding and best-known works by Korea’s modern and contempora

April 13, 2022

National museum showcases massive painting to mark Buddha’s birthday

National Museum of Korea is marking Buddha’s birthday with a special exhibition, “Feast of Light,” which opens Wednesday. This year, Buddha’s birthday falls on May 8. The highlight of the exhibition is a large-scale 17th-century scroll painting featuring Rocana Buddha from Sudeoksa, a Buddhist temple in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, and a 14th-century Goryeo-era wooden lotus pedestal. Both are state-designated treasures. Gwaebul refers to very large Buddhist banne

April 12, 2022

[International Galleries in Seoul] Tang Contemporary Art takes Seoul as bridge to wider international market

The following is part of a series that explores international galleries that have opened a location in Seoul, as a new art hub in Asia. --Ed. Tang Contemporary Art started engaging with South Korea five years ago, after joining the annual Art Busan. One of Asia’s major art galleries, the Beijing-based institution solidified ties with the fast-rising art market last year, presenting works both at Kiaf SEOUL and Art Busan. “Art fairs in South Korea in the past five years got us t

April 11, 2022

MMCA to build Daejeon venue, host joint shows with world’s renowned museums

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will build its fifth venue in Daejeon and cement ties with internationally renowned museums to promote Korean art as part of its new plan to reach local and international audiences. The museum’s venue in Daejeon -- the country’s fifth-largest city -- will open in early 2026, occupying the building of the former South Chungcheong provincial government office. Renovation of the modernist building first built in 1932 will sta

April 6, 2022

Busan to become popular art destination with easing of pandemic restrictions

The southern port city of Busan expects to draw art lovers from home and abroad with two major art events that will kick off in May and September -- Art Busan and Busan Biennale -- as the government eases restrictions against the pandemic. Art Busan, scheduled to open on May 12 for VVIPs and run from May 13 to 15 for the general public, will be joined by 134 galleries from 21 countries at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center. The number of international galleries from abroad jumped to 3

April 5, 2022

[International Galleries in Seoul] Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery open to working with Korean artists

The following is part of a series that explores international galleries that have opened in Seoul, a new art hub in Asia. --Ed. Thaddaeus Ropac Seoul opened in October 2021 at the heart of Hannam-dong as Korea and the world were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The move may have seemed foolhardy, but Thaddaeus Ropac, the Austrian gallerist who has run the gallery for almost 40 years, did not hesitate to expand its presence in Asian market. “Though the pandemic was unprecedented in

April 4, 2022

Kansong Art Museum to open for first time in seven years

Kansong Art Museum -- South Korea’s first private museum and home to some 5,000 artifacts including 10 state-designated national treasures -- will open its doors for the first time in seven years on April 16. A new exhibition at Bohwagak, the museum’s original building, coincides with the recent completion of a new storage facility on the museum grounds. The exhibition will showcase 44 artifacts from the museum’s collection at Bohwagak, which was listed as a state-registere

April 3, 2022

Exhibition featuring sexual slavery statue kicks off in Tokyo

TOKYO -- An exhibition featuring art works on victims of the Japanese military sexual slavery kicked off in Tokyo on Saturday despite protests from Japanese right-wing activists. "Non-Freedom of Expression Exhibition" opened for a four-day run at a public gallery in Kunitachi, Tokyo Prefecture, to showcase works by 16 artist collectives, including a statue symbolizing victims of the Japanese military sexual slavery during the World War II. "The Statue of Peace" symbolizes w

April 2, 2022

Korean pavilion at Venice Biennale will feature the theme ‘Gyre’ as world’s disorder

The Korean Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale in April will be held under the theme of “Gyre,” as a metaphor for the confusion that the world goes through with seven installations created by artist Kim Yun-chul. “The word ‘Gyre’ connotes multiple meanings. The Korean Pavilion will become a massive work itself, organically combined with Kim’s works. We will tear off the pavilion ceiling, so that the space mingles with nature with smell and natural light,&r

March 30, 2022

Signs of return to normalcy at Leeum Museum of Art

Leeum Museum of Art opened its first exhibitions of the year, “Artspectrum2022” and “Ian Cheng: Worlding,” featuring young artists at home and abroad who are pushing the boundary of conventional art genres. A total of eight emerging Korean artists are featured at “Artspectrum2022,” the seventh edition of the museum’s biannual exhibition that aims to introduce emerging young Korean artists. A panel of four curators from the museum, four critics and out

March 29, 2022

[Herald Interview] Artist Heo Wook cries out ‘no war’ in Ukraine through ‘Cheomcheom’

Artist Heo Wook is happiest when he draws lines to connect edges in his works. He has pursued an artistic concept of his own, which he calls “Cheomcheom,” that has evolved throughout his artistic career. After graduating from Beaux-Arts de Paris with degrees in drawing, painting, architecture and multimedia, Heo has explored how relationships are created among objects or people. The concept “Cheomcheom” literally means to constantly lay one thing upon another in Korea

March 27, 2022

[Eye Interview] Working to turn Lie Sang-bong, LIE into global family brands

A growing number of Korea’s fashion brands and designers are expanding their presence in the global market, showcasing their collections at major fashion weeks and launching flagship stores overseas.  Lee Chung-chung, chief executive officer and creative director of LIE, and son of veteran fashion designer Lie Sang-bong, the founder of Korean fashion house Lie Sangbong, aims to grow both his brand and his father’s brand into globally known labels. “One of my dreams is to

March 26, 2022