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

Strong, rapid brushstrokes show artist’s superrational memories

Layers of vigorous brushstrokes are painted on a canvas. It may look like an abstract painting at a glance, but if you examine it carefully you will find objects hidden among the rapid brushstrokes. Jang Jae-min uses all his senses to remember the places he visits -- smell, hearing, sight -- then recalls the memories while he is painting. His works are done intuitively, and the artist’s intuitive nature comes through on the canvas. The semi-abstract paintings will animate the audience&rs

Oct. 24, 2020

[Herald Design Forum 2020] Experts share key know-how for attracting future audiences

Three experts from different fields-- D’strict CEO Lee Sung-ho, Dophiners Films CEO Shin Woo-seok and Z-lab CEO Noh Kyung-rok -- shared their thoughts Thursday about attracting audiences in the future during the 10th edition of Herald Design Forum held at Paradise City in Incheon. The annual event which celebrates the art of design and its value was conducted this year under the title of “Another 10 Years.” The CEO of D’strict, the company that created a successful pub

Oct. 22, 2020

[Herald Design Forum 2020] Tomas Saraceno calls for time to ‘Free the Air’

INCHEON -- Argentinian artist Tomas Saraceno stressed that “freeing the air” is one of the most important agendas for humanity at the Herald Design Forum 2020, held virtually in Incheon on Thursday. Saraceno is an Argentinian artist based in Berlin whose works span from architecture involving future cities and the environment to climate issues, all striving to work up a “quasi feasible utopia.” At the annual design event, he made a special speech titled “Free th

Oct. 22, 2020

[Herald Design Forum 2020] Preparing for the new future

The 2020 Herald Design Forum was held Thursday, sharing design ideas that envision the next 10 years, at Paradise City Chroma in Incheon.  At the event, Hans Ulrich Obrist, an influential art curator, delivered a speech titled “Toward a New Era of Social Imagination,” which also streamed online. The Swiss-born curator shared his thoughts on the role of art and design. Obrist is the director of the Serpentine Galleries in London, which boasts a wide selection of contemporary

Oct. 22, 2020

[Herald Design Forum 2020] Israeli designer Ron Arad says design begins with ‘What if’

Israeli designer Ron Arad said that his ideas and inspiration come from questions that begin with “what if?” “The whole thing starts with curiosity,” Ron Arad said during Herald Design Forum 2020, held virtually in Incheon on Thursday. “Everything starts with what if you do that and what if you don’t. What and ifs. I don’t like manifestos. When I was teaching at the Royal College of Art, we never used the word ‘should.’ (We never said) you s

Oct. 22, 2020

Modern artist Byun Shi-ji offers comfort revealing severe loneliness in paintings

You may feel poignant loneliness in the paintings. The man who walks with a cane facing strong wind or a typhoon may look so lonely that it brings tears to your eyes. But at the same time, you will feel solace. What made his life so arduous? The question will linger in your mind as you view the works of Korean modern artist Byun Shi-ji at the Gana Art Center exhibition that features 40 paintings from his final years on Jeju Island, where he died in 2013. Born in 1926 on Jeju Island, the ar

Oct. 21, 2020

[Herald Design Forum 2020] D'strict expresses nature with digital media technology　

A massive wave crashing into the sides of what looks like a giant glass tank, but is actually a wrap-around LED display, grabbed the attention of not just passers-by but international media in May. D’strict, the company that created the public media art titled “WAVE” at Coex K-pop Square in Seoul, used a technology called anamorphic illusion to realistically express the force of nature with superb three-dimensional effects. In August, D’strict unveiled “Starry Bea

Oct. 20, 2020

[Herald Design Forum 2020] Finding balanced symbiosis by connecting art, natural sciences

Tomas Saraceno, an architect and artist from Argentina, uses an analogy of dreams to explain the elusive concept of utopia. “Sometimes you have nightmares and sometimes you have dreams. It means you can think about dystopia and utopia as a nightmare or a dream,” he said in an interview. Saraceno, who will join the Herald Design Forum 2020 slated for Thursday as one of keynote speakers, said that utopia, though as changeable as a dream, is “something that is supposed to be b

Oct. 20, 2020

[Herald Design Forum] Herald Design Forum to ponder ‘Another 10 Years’

The Herald Design Forum 2020 will be held virtually Thursday, envisioning the next 10 years of innovation by design. The 10th edition of the annual event, which celebrates the art of design and its value, will be held under the title of “Another 10 Years.” In response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the forum will be held virtually. In compliance with the government’s social distancing guideline, fewer than 50 speakers and officials will attend the event held at Paradise

Oct. 20, 2020

Photographer Gabriele Basilico’s view of Italian cities on show in Seoul

The COVID-19 pandemic has made international travel virtually impossible, but there are ways yet to explore foreign lands and take in the view. Gabriele Basilico, a renowned Italian photographer whose works feature the country’s cities and architecture, provides an intimate look at how cities in Italy have changed in the contemporary era by training his eyes on their architecture and their streets. “Gabriele Basilico, Photographs of Italy,” the artist’s first solo exh

Oct. 20, 2020

South Korean avant-garde art to be introduced at Guggenheim Museum in 2022

South Korea’s avant-garde artists who introduced performance art to the country in the 1960s will be presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2022 as the first major international exhibition of Korean avant-garde art. The exhibition titled “The Avant-Garde: Experimental Art in South Korea, in 1960s-1970s” at Guggenheim Museum will be co-organized with the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul. The exhibition will be held in tandem at the tw

Oct. 20, 2020

[Herald Interview] Digital Seoul Fashion Week to challenge convention, promote designers globally

The sudden outbreak of the pandemic frustrated the fashion industry earlier this year when the 2020 fall-winter Seoul Fashion Week was canceled just a month before it was scheduled to take place. After gearing up for the 2021 spring-summer season for months, Korea’s largest fashion event is going digital, breaking the barrier between designers and audiences. “It will be our first show to attempt to show B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business to customer) retail models at the

Oct. 19, 2020

Basquiat's genius on full display at largest-ever show of his works in Seoul

Masterpieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat -- the American artist whose rebellious style influenced art ranging from graffiti to pop art -- are being shown in South Korea’s largest-ever exhibition of his work. The title of the exhibition, “Jean Michel Basquiat: Royalty, Heroism, and the Streets,” at the Lotte Museum of Art reflects what the artist valued in his art. Basquiat chose the three subject matters -- royalty, heroism and streets-- that he cared about in his art in a 1983 i

Oct. 17, 2020

Celebrating Beethoven through music and art in Busan

In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth, a cultural event that creatively combines a classical concert and media art exhibition will take place Tuesday at F1963, a culture complex in Busan. “Artist Letter,” a concert and exhibition dedicated to Beethoven, aims to encourage people who are depressed by the prolonging pandemic by delivering the message of how the great musician overcame the difficulties he faced as he lost his hearing. Six str

Oct. 16, 2020

AHAF shows international, in-person exhibition despite pandemic

Asia Hotel Art Fair Seoul 2020 kicked off Thursday afternoon at Nine Tree Premier Hotel Insadong in central Seoul, showcasing nearly 4,000 works from 60 galleries from home and abroad, offering art lovers the chance to collect works amid a series of art fair cancellations. The biannual art fair aims to promote interaction among galleries across Asia as well as introduce promising artists. A variety of work, from paintings to sculptures, is on display inside the 71 hotel rooms on the 10th, 12th

Oct. 16, 2020