MMCA screens indie films by masters

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, will screen films starting Friday that shed light on the ordinariness of everyday life that has gone missing due to the pandemic. “Intermission 2020” will run through Dec. 6 at the MMCA’s Seoul venue, presenting seven indie films by French director Philippe Garrel, Lithuanian American filmmaker Jonas Mekas and American director Anne Charlotte Robertson. “Intermission,” launched in 2014, takes place betwe

Nov. 21, 2020

Global press photo exhibition illustrates life during COVID-19

An exhibition of press photos zooming in on life during the new coronavirus is set to begin at a Seoul museum next week, offering visitors a chance to see how the world is coping with the unprecedented pandemic, organizers said Thursday. The exhibition, titled "At the Scenes of the Pandemic," features 120 photos taken by photographers at 47 news agencies around the world. It is scheduled to open at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in central Seoul on Tuesday, accordi

Nov. 19, 2020

Upcoming Gwangju Biennale will blur boundaries between online, offline platforms

The 13th Gwangju Biennale -- South Korea’s largest art biennale, which has become a major art event in Asia -- will kick off Feb. 26, having been pushed back due to the spread of COVID-19. The theme of the 73-day biennale will be “Minds Rising, Spirits Tuning,” with 69 artists participating and 41 new commissions. The artworks will be on display across the city of Gwangju -- at Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall, Gwangju National Museum, Gwangju Theater and Horanggasy Artpolyg

Nov. 18, 2020

Beauty of reality captured by photography master Min Byung-hun

The black and white photographs of birds in nature -- some flying over a lake, while others rest amid falling snow -- are quiet and comforting. The longer you look, the more visually complex they become, with small stories and textures scattered throughout each artwork. Photographer Min Byung-hun -- who has been practicing film photography for decades -- is showing his recent bird series at an exhibition titled “Bird” at Gallery NoW in southern Seoul. His photographs feature faint,

Nov. 17, 2020

Seoul Design Festival to present sustainable designs for pandemic times

Seoul Design Festival 2020 -- one of Korea’s major design fairs -- will start on Dec. 9 at Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, with the theme “New Normal.” This year’s festival will provide an opportunity to explore sustainable designs that are expected to be used widely after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. During the five-day festival, approximately 200 design brands from home and abroad will set up 400 booths. The participating brands will present a varie

Nov. 16, 2020

The Moomins from Finland visit Seoul to provide comfort amid pandemic

The Moomins, a family of trolls from Finland, known for their white fur coats and large snouts, live in their house in the Moomin valley and go on adventures with friends. They learn to understand each other with empathy and overcome struggles together. The story of the Moomins, which marks its 75th anniversary this year, is comforting people around the world who are exhausted from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has forced us apart. An exhibition “Moomin Original” -- which op

Nov. 14, 2020

Visualizing Beethoven’s music through brain waves

Art Center Nabi and Goethe-Institute Korea will present “Neuro-knitting Beethoven“ on Nov. 27, a telematics performance connecting music and technology in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth. The performance will feature kinetic art combined with telematics data produced by the European media artist duo Varvara & Mar. They will select a listener of Beethoven’s music and the listener’s brain data will turn in to fabric art. B

Nov. 14, 2020

Addictive ‘Baby Shark’ child song recognized with RIAA’s diamond status

The catchiest children’s song of all time, “Baby Shark,” which went viral for years with its addictive tune, recorded another milestone with Diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. "(Baby Shark) is the only diamond awarded children’s single in RIAA Gold & Platinum Program history,” the association noted in its social media. For 60 years, the association has issued the Gold & Platinum certifications which has become a b

Nov. 14, 2020

Japanese artist Sugito overturns common sense with wooden frames

A series of geometrical semi-abstract paintings “wrapped up” inside antique wooden frames is on display, each one appearing to show a fragment of an old memory. Japanese painter Hiroshi Sugito’s recent paintings are showcased at his first solo exhibition in South Korea, featuring a series of small oil paintings. The works are reminiscent of dream scenes with objects such as trees, fruits, small houses and clouds. Some paintings are based on the artist’s sketches of rur

Nov. 11, 2020

Banksy’s artworks to be unveiled at urban art show in Seoul

Two artworks by British artist Banksy will be unveiled for the first time in South Korea at 2020 Global Break Art Asia, which opens Thursday at Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. The third edition of the annual art fair, which runs through Sunday and focuses on urban contemporary art, will showcase Banksy’s “Queen Victoria” and “Love Is in the Air.” Urban art, which encompasses diverse forms of visual art arising in urban areas, such as graffiti, flourished in t

Nov. 10, 2020

‘Korean Architecture Tour: Past to Present’ walks you through buildings of note

A guidebook that introduces South Korea’s representative architectural works has been published by the Korea Tourism Organization for foreigners interested in exploring the country. Published in English, Japanese and Chinese, “Korean Architecture Tour: Past to Present” introduces 56 architectural works, from traditional buildings with historical significance to award-winning contemporary buildings. The traditional buildings highlighted in the book include the shrine Jongmyo

Nov. 9, 2020

Sentimental waterdrop painting artist showcases new portrait drawing series

Painter Nam Hea-kyoung, who is known for sentimental paintings of water drops streaming down windows featuring different themes, has opened up a solo exhibition “The Story of Rain and You” in Gangnam-gu, central Seoul. The exhibition, which runs through Nov. 17 at I Have A Dream, a multicultural space, showcases 10 recent oil paintings and 30 pencil drawings. Along with Nam’s signature water drop paintings, the exhibition is special because it also features her portrait pe

Nov. 8, 2020

Palace architectures harmonized with artworks at Deoksugung palace

When you pass by the palace Deoksugung at the center of Seoul, you might notice the sign “Art Plant Asia 2020: Hare Way Object,” the title of the exhibition that offers a chance to appreciate the beauty of the architecture in the palace complex as well as the works of art from established artists across Asia. The exhibition features the works of 33 artists installed inside and outside the palace complex in harmony with the beauty of its architecture. The palace had served the long

Nov. 8, 2020

'Arttainers' bring diversity to Korean art scene

Artist Kwon Ji-an -- better known as K-pop musician Solbi -- was at the center of attention in the art scene in September with her new finger painting “Palette Garden” fetched 9.2 million won at an auction by Korea’s major auction house, recording the highest price. “I was fascinated with painting because it was one of the few ways that I could express my feelings freely as an entertainer who is always exposed to people’s eyes. I actually began painting as a means

Nov. 7, 2020

Art Sonje Center exhibitions ask how to live together in times of nationalism, racism, pandemic

In recent years, the terms “nationalism,” “refugee crisis” and “racism” have appeared often in media around the world, reflecting the growing indifference to others. It may be argued that this tendency has only grown stronger as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to keep a distance from each other. The question of “How to live together at this time” is presented at three different exhibitions at Art Sonje Center in central Seoul through the wor

Nov. 4, 2020

Artworks revive painful memories of democracy movement in Gwangju

GWANGJU - A dingy building that once served as the Armed Forces’ Gwangju Hospital had remained closed for years. It had treated the people of Gwangju wounded during the May 18 Democratization Movement in the city, but at the same time was also covertly used to conduct investigations and torture those involved in the movement.  After the Army hospital moved to a different location in Gwangju as the city began to develop, the building was left vacant for more than 10 years, gradually

Nov. 2, 2020

Next year’s architecture biennale in Seoul will discuss resiliency through five ‘crossroads’

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2021 -- which is scheduled to be held in September next year in Seoul -- will discuss how the city of Seoul can be more resilient, accommodating a population of some 10 million people. “Today, ‘resiliency’ is not a pointless word. The current situation forces us to build resilient cities,” said Dominique Perrault, the general director of the biennale, at a “pre-biennale” event Thursday. Its purpose was to declare t

Oct. 30, 2020

Seoul Fashion Week gives everyone a front seat

The 2021 spring-summer Seoul Fashion Week ended Sunday, attracting some 670,000 views of the runway videos. Korea’s largest fashion show kicked off on Oct. 20, live-streaming the runway show of Miss Gee Collection, womenswear brand headed by the veteran designer Gee Choon-hee who was named the honorary designer of the year. Miss Gee Collection has participated in Seoul Fashion Week for the past 20 years. The live digital runway was viewed by more than 20,000 people online, according to

Oct. 29, 2020

Architectural drawings with AR technology show history of industrialization in Korea

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art unveiled its inaugural MMCA Cheongju Project 2020 at its Cheongju venue, titled “Kwon Minho: Clouded Breath.” The artist combines architectural drawings with media technology to convey the narrative of South Korea’s industrialization. Kwon Min-ho, who “tells” the story of Korea’s economic history through imaginative large-scale drawings that resemble an architect’s blueprints, was the first artist to

Oct. 28, 2020

Kim Tschang-yeul’s spirituality rings through waterdrops

The paintings of water drops by Kim Tschang-yeul are familiar both home and abroad, but how the artist began to associate water drops with text is not so widely known. Gallery Hyundai, a major commercial art gallery in Korea that has a special relationship with the 90-year-old artist, sheds light on that history through an exhibition dedicated to the artist. “The Path” is an exhibition that shows how Kim highlights his personality through the painting series that combines text a

Oct. 25, 2020