What to expect in Korean art scene this year

With museums and galleries announcing their exhibitions for the year, the issue of gender is getting attention at two major museums in the country. The privately run Hoam Museum of Art will showcase “Women and Buddhism” in March, the largest-ever exhibition examining East Asian Buddhist art from a new perspective through the lens of gender. The exhibition will present masterworks of Buddhist art in cooperation with overseas art institutions. “(The exhibition) will showcase the

Jan. 8, 2024

Songzio to launch Paris flagship store

Songzio, the South Korean fashion house known for its avant-garde men’s wear, will open a flagship store in Paris in June and unveil its first womenswear collection, also in June, for the spring-summer 2025 season, according to an agency representing the company. The move means a “real start of globalizing the brand,” said Song Zio, the founding designer of Songzio International, in a statement, calling Paris the center of the fashion world and Seoul the center of a new culture

Jan. 4, 2024

[Herald Interview] G Gallery looks ahead with emerging Korean artists

Galleries come and go with the changing tides of the art market. When the market booms, new galleries mushroom, but in lean times, many disappear. Chung Seung-jin, director of G Gallery in Seoul, has held on to her commitment to art, and her gallery, for the past 10 years. The gallery was first founded in 2013 in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, and moved to Cheongdam-dong, an affluent neighborhood in southern Seoul, four years later to meet more collectors. “The last 10 years were never easy.

Jan. 3, 2024

Avant-garde artist Jung Kang-ja gets recognition at home and abroad

Jung Kang-ja is one of the few female artists who led Korean experimental art that flourished in the 1960s to 1970s. Yet, the artist remains relatively unfamiliar to many. Arario Gallery sheds light on the artist’s path, presenting some 70 works in Shanghai and Seoul. The exhibition in Shanghai titled “Jung KangJa: Life Goes On” gives a glimpse of Jung’s path from the 1980s to 2000s, showing many of the works that were inspired by the artist's travels across South Am

Jan. 2, 2024

Architects discuss how to make public spaces more inclusive

A number of renowned architects in South Korea gathered Wednesday to discuss ways to make public spaces more inclusive amid a wider push within the country as well as around the world to raise the quality of public architecture for communities. “Space for All: Exploring Impact of Public Architecture on Civic Life,” a forum organized by The Korea Herald to recap its seven-part series published in August, weighed in on insights and behind-the-scenes stories of public projects led by se

Dec. 21, 2023

Special exhibition held to mark year of dragon

The National Folk Museum of Korea is holding a special exhibition to celebrate the Year of the Dragon, one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. The show, set to run through March 3, 2024, will explore symbols and mythology associated with the only imaginary creature of the 12 animals, the state-run museum said Wednesday. According to Korean mythology, the dragon lives underwater -- one of the reasons lakes and rivers, as well as mountains, reference it in their names. Government data released in 20

Dec. 20, 2023

Craft fair highlights artisans under radar

The largest annual fair showcasing crafts in South Korea ended Sunday, with hopes for the country’s artisans to go global on surging demand for their work. The 2023 Craft Trend Fair, hosted by the Culture Ministry and organized by the Korea Craft & Design Foundation from Thursday to Sunday, attracted 276 participants -- mostly galleries and workshops -- with handmade goods ranging from tableware and furniture to knitting and embroidery. New to this year’s fair, which has run sinc

Dec. 19, 2023

Leipzig's Christoph Ruckhaberle breathes life into abstract painting

German artist Christoph Ruckhaberle attempts to bring out the subjects of his paintings as if declaring art should not be something conceptual, but rather something to enjoy. The exhibition “Waking up the pictures: Christoph Ruckhaberle” invites people to mix and mingle with his art. The artist’s first-ever solo exhibition in Seoul shows some 160 paintings from 2007 to 2023, including those especially created for this exhibition. Based in Leipzig, Ruckhaberle is one of the lead

Dec. 15, 2023

National Museum explores ideals of Joseon Kings Yeongjo, Jeongjo

A special exhibition that revisits an era when two Joseon kings pursued rule of impartiality has opened ahead of next year’s 300th anniversary of King Yeongjo’s ascendance to the throne. King Yeongjo was succeeded by his grandson, King Jeongjo. The exhibition, organized by the National Museum of Korea under the theme “Wise and Unbiased,” comprises calligraphy and paintings that, according to the museum, declared an equal share for all under a powerful monarch. “King

Dec. 11, 2023

Fragile yet strong, G Gallery's 'Thick Skin' showcases two emerging artists

Artists tell us about their inner worlds through the art they create. Two young Korean artists -- Hwang Sue-yon and Choi Yoon-hee -- unveil their inner selves, both fragile yet strong, through the medium of paintings and sculptures. The emerging artists are showing new works at G Gallery in Seoul at the exhibition “Thick Skin," which kicked off on Nov. 29. Hwang explores paper sculptures, created with paper and graphite. From a distance, the sculptures look as though they are made

Dec. 10, 2023

ART Fin runs holiday-themed exhibition in Seoul

Online art platform ART Fin kicks off the exhibition “The Present” on Tuesday at ART Fin gallery in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, bringing together seven artists -- Kwon Ji-young, Kim Su-cheol, Min Chan-wook, Bahk Young-hoon, Lee Gun-hee, Lee Si-san and Lee Yoon-jeong. Coinciding with the holiday season, part of the sales from the exhibition will be donated to groups supporting underprivileged children, according to ART Fin. The works on display include “Mycota,” an 80-cent

Dec. 10, 2023

Kim Bo-seong shows Hangeul art in Spain, Portugal

Artist Kim Bo-seong, who has found inspiration in the Korean alphabet, Hangeul, for his art, rolled up his sleeves to herald Korean consonants and vowels in Europe through his art created using virtual reality technology. Kim kicked off the project in April while traveling to Spain and Portugal, presenting his works through virtual reality, which he continues until Tuesday next week. Each consonant and vowel is a source of artistic inspiration for Kim. who has explored Hangeul for more than 35 y

Dec. 6, 2023

Exhibition opens to deepen ‘Olympic experience’

An exhibition featuring calligraphy, paintings and folding screens opened Tuesday at the Chuncheon National Museum in Gangwon Province, near the site of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, ahead of the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics. The exhibition showcases artifacts that offer a glimpse into what it would be like to traverse Kumgangsan, a mountain that has been featured in numerous works of Korean art. In addition to works depicting the mountain, which sits in North Korea and borders Gangwon Pro

Dec. 5, 2023

[Herald Interview] Yi Yi Jeong-eun sings praises of nature through layers of oil painting

Upon opening the door to her studio, one is overwhelmed by the plethora of oil paintings – both visually and olfactorily. In a room where Yi Yi Jeong-eun dries her paintings are oil paint tubes stacked in rows and wafting with their smell. Painter Yi Yi moved her studio to a four-bedroom apartment -- where she also resides -- in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province about a year ago. She wanted to find a bigger place where she can separate where she dries her oil paintings, from where she stores and pa

Dec. 4, 2023

MMCA Seoul marks 10th anniversary with international symposium

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea marked its 10th anniversary with an international symposium under the title, “Potential from the Unknown: Contemporary Art and Institutions” at the Multi-Project Hall of MMCA Seoul on Friday. The three sections of the symposium -- “After Institutions,” “From the Perspectives of Asia” and “Ecological Exposure” -- brought together some 15 art experts, including curator Karen Archey from Sted

Dec. 1, 2023

Leeum Museum to restore Korean artifacts from overseas institutions

The Samsung Foundation of Culture will collaborate with overseas cultural institutions to restore works of Korean cultural heritage, bringing the works to the Leeum Museum of Art for the restoration process, the foundation announced Wednesday. “Banquet for the Governor of Pyeong-an,” owned by the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, is currently under restoration and is the first work to benefit from the collaboration. The folding screen painting from the 19th century depicts a ban

Nov. 29, 2023

Van Cleef & Arpels touring exhibition brings sparkles to Seoul

The 118-year history of Van Cleef & Arpels, a French luxury jewelry brand, is showcased at a world-touring exhibition titled “Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love" which opened in Seoul on Nov. 18. More than 300 jewelry creations, watches and precious objects and more than 90 original archives are brought together at the exhibition, which arrived in Seoul after touring Italy in 2019, China in 2022 and Saudi Arabia earlier this year. The delicate beauty of the gems is breatht

Nov. 27, 2023

PKM Gallery sheds light on Toby Ziegler, Kwon Jin-kyu

PKM Gallery, one of the leading commercial galleries in South Korea, is offering two exhibitions of artists with whom it has long-standing relationships: British contemporary artist Toby Ziegler and Korean sculptor Kwon Jin-kyu. The gallery, located in Samcheong-dong in northern Seoul, brought together works by the two artists in separate exhibitions, “Toby Ziegler, Broken Images” and “Kwon Jin Kyu: The Reliefs.” Ziegler has shown his works at the Seoul-based gallery ever

Nov. 24, 2023

Leeum Museum ecological project starts Dec. 1 with Chanel Culture Fund

The Leeum Museum of Art will launch a long-term public program entitled “Idea Museum: Ecological Turns” in conjunction with Chanel Culture Fund to explore diverse ways ecological issues can be made part of art institution practices, convening leading international and Korean artists, academics and designers, among others. The three-year project will evolve around themes such as the climate crisis, sustainability, ecology, women, care and education through seminars, film screenings an

Nov. 22, 2023

Enigmatic artist David Rappeneau's first Asia show taking place at Gladstone Gallery

David Rappeneau’s drawings are peculiarly attractive. Some younger audiences may find the images familiar as they view young men and women smoking or looking at a smartphone screen in a sketchy part of town. The subjects in Rappeneau's work look free, but for some reason, they also appear to be lonely or in agony. Not much is known about Rappeneau, who has remained enigmatic since emerging in the art world in 2014 as a provocative illustrator. What is known so far is that Rappeneau is

Nov. 20, 2023