'Basel Night' at Swiss Embassy in Seoul heralds Basel's cultural legacy

The city of Basel in Switzerland is famously known to many people in Seoul for the world’s leading art fair, Art Basel. The city’s top figures in art and architecture gathered at the Swiss Embassy in Seoul on Thursday for "Basel Night," an event aimed at promoting the city's cultural scene in Seoul. The event was attended by Swiss Ambassador to Korea Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli; Christoph Bosshardt, marketing director of Basel Tourism; Angelle Siyang-Le, director of Ar

Oct. 13, 2023

[Photo News] 2023 Sea Art Festival returns to Busan's Ilgwang Beach

The 2023 Sea Art Festival kicks off Saturday at Busan's Ilgwang Beach, running through Nov. 19 under the theme of “Flickering Shores, Sea Imaginaries” to explore the relationship between the sea and humans. The art festival will see the participation of some 43 artists and collectives from 20 countries, including Indonesian artist Ari Bayuaji, who turns plastic waste from the sea into artwork. He will be unveiling a newly commissioned work for the art festival, "Traces of t

Oct. 13, 2023

Chinese avant-garde artist Yue Minjun unveils flower paintings created during pandemic

Chinese contemporary artist Yue Minjun recently unveiled in Seoul paintings he created during the pandemic that break away from his signature style. Starting in the 1990s, his paintings have earned him the titles "cynical realism painter" and "Chinese avant-garde artist." Tang Contemporary Art in Seoul is showcasing 24 paintings for a solo exhibition by Yue featuring both older and more recent works. His more recent works consist of the flower series -- paintings depicting

Oct. 12, 2023

Art Busan's unveils galleries, theme for inaugural fair, Define Seoul

South Korea's leading art fair, Art Busan, unveiled the theme for its inaugural Seoul art show and design fair, Define Seoul, and announced the list of galleries that will be participating in the event, which will be held on Nov. 1-5 in Seongsu-dong. "We have cultivated the art fair in Busan for the past 15 years, which is now considered a top art fair in the country. I think we have the know-how and the collectors to run an art fair in Seoul," said Jeong Seok-ho, managing direc

Oct. 11, 2023

[Photo News] AI, conventional painting come together

Interdisciplinary artist Elly Cho's solo exhibition "Transcendent Echoes" will open Sunday at Kwanhoon Gallery in Seoul, featuring her new works created by combining the use of artificial intelligence drawing tools and conventional painting. The works focus on environmental change and its impact on the collective consciousness. Among the works on display will be "Visual Kinematics: A State of Mind (N.10)" which was shown at New York's Times Square in July 2012 as pa

Oct. 9, 2023

Cheongju Craft Biennale stresses connection with nature, Jikji legacy

CHEONGJU, North Chungcheong Province – Cheongju, the largest city in North Chungcheong Province, 137 kilometers south of Seoul, is home to the world’s oldest metal-printed book Jikji. Acknowledged by UNESCO, Jikji was created in 1377 during the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) at Heungdeok Temple in the city. Cheongju Craft Biennale was launched in 1999 to succeed the legacy of Jikji, or Jikji Simche Yojeol, that preceded Europe’s Gutenberg Bible in 1455, in dedication to the craftsma

Oct. 9, 2023

Art Token launches Hangeul-based NFT art

Online non-fungible token art trading platform Art Token on Monday released NFT works based on Hangeul calligraphy, in commemoration of Hangeul Day that celebrates the invention of the Korean alphabet. “Shoot Shoot Shoot Goal Goal Goal” and other works were created by calligrapher Park Byung-chul and converted into 3D digital art. NFT art is entirely digital artwork that is tokenized to be stored on the blockchain. Park's NFT works were released on 2R2, an online global art trad

Oct. 9, 2023

[Photo News] Floral Butterfly

Seoul-based gallery Kocoon d’Art introduced works by Korean artists, including Kim Hong-nyun, at Focus London 2023 at Saatchi Gallery from Wednesday to Saturday. Kim, a painter of butterflies for the past 25 years, paints flowers arranged in the shape of a a butterfly in acrylic.

Oct. 8, 2023

Film director Jung Byung-gil's first solo exhibition unveiled in Busan

Film director Jung Byung-gil has opened his first-ever solo exhibition in Busan, unveiling some 30 paintings from the early years of his career, which highlight his artistic inspiration beyond the world of cinema. The exhibition, “Freedom. Dream. Movie,” opened at the Start Plus gallery in Busan on Sunday, coinciding with the 2023 Busan International Film Festival. Some of Jung's works at the exhibition hint at the contents of the director’s upcoming film, including the n

Oct. 8, 2023

Exhibition 'Hanbok, Revisited' offers modern tastes on traditional Korean clothing

A special exhibition titled "Blurring Boundaries: Hanbok, Revisited" is underway at Areumjigi in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, in central Seoul, featuring traditional Korean clothes, or hanbok, with a modern touch. The nonprofit private foundation Areumjigi, dedicated to preserving South Korea's cultural heritage, is holding the hanbok exhibition through Nov. 15. The highlight of the exhibition are nine sets of hanbok by designer Christina Kim, who presents modern interpretations of the

Sept. 28, 2023

Nam June Paik Art Center to be led by new director Park Nam-hee

The Nam June Paik Art Center in Gyeonggi Province -- the only museum in the world dedicated to the video art pioneer Paik Nam-june -- will be helmed by its newly appointed director, Park Nam-hee, for the next two years. Park was appointed to the position and began work in her role as of Tuesday, according to the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation. The position allows for consecutive terms. “I will do all my best to globally promote the Nam June Paik Art Center, a place the artist himself named a

Sept. 27, 2023

Immersive, digital art shows to enjoy during extended holiday

If you are looking for a place to spend some quality family time during the six-day holiday that starts this Thursday, check out the digital exhibitions in Seoul that can be enjoyed regardless of one’s age. Salvador Dali’s surrealist paintings are digitally reproduced at Walkerhill Hotel & Resorts in Seoul's Gwangjin-gu, inviting audiences to the immersive space full of the Spanish painter’s iconic images such as melting clocks. The 3,400-square-meter Theater des Lumie

Sept. 27, 2023

[Herald Interview] As a wanderer, Yoshitomo Nara does not confine himself to art

Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara has returned to Seoul, bringing with him ceramic works that are a departure from his iconic paintings of children most people here are familiar with. The artist broke the long-held perception in Seoul about his works at the exhibition “Yoshitomo Nara: Ceramic Works” at Pace Gallery in Hannam-dong, central Seoul. One might be baffled upon encountering these monochromatic ceramic works rather than his paintings of wide-eyed children, which were last displ

Sept. 25, 2023

[Book Review] 'Lee Kun-hee. Hong Ra-hee. Collection' unveils story of Lee's donated works

“Lee Kun-hee. Hong Ra-hee. Collection” By Sohn Young-ok Jaeum&Moeum Publishing Co. When the extensive works collected by late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee were donated to the public in South Korea two years ago, it was widely referred to as the “collection of the century,” and the businessman was dubbed as the “Korea’s Medici” as a patron of Korean art. In her latest book, “Lee Kun-hee. Hong Ra-hee. Collection,” journalist Sohn

Sept. 24, 2023

Korean art curatorship established at the Met

An endowed curatorship for Korean art has been established at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through the Korea Foundation Curatorship Fund, funded by the Samsung Foundation of Culture and Korea Foundation. Eleanor Soo-ah Hyun was named the Korea Foundation and Samsung Foundation of Culture associate curator on Wednesday. Hyun joined the Met in 2019 after working at the British Museum as a curator for the Korean collection. The Met also announced its plans to bolster Korean art exhibitions at the

Sept. 22, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'Businesses should be led to invest in the arts': Arts Council Chair Choung Byoung-gug

Wearing a white shirt and jeans, Arts Council Korea Chairperson Choung Byoung-gug prepares coffee at his Seoul office in the small-theater district of Daehagno before the interview in late July. “Five or six years ago, we signed a memorandum of understanding for a 50 billion-won ($37 million) project to build a coffee museum, a coffee library and so on in Addis Ababa,” said Choung, recalling his work as a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Commit

Sept. 22, 2023

Art:Gwangju:23 kicks off with special exhibitions

Gwangju city’s annual art fair, Art:Gwangju:23, kicked off Thursday at the Kimdaejung Convention Center with 105 galleries participating. Some 13 booths are dedicated to special exhibitions. The 14th edition of the art fair in the southwestern city is hosted by the city government and run by the Gwangju Branch of Korean Fine Arts Association. The four-day art fair includes culture talks by Kim Byung-hun, director of Sochon Art Factory, and Yoon Byung-hak, director of Chungjang 22, a cultur

Sept. 21, 2023

[Herald Design Forum 2023] Fostering entrepreneurship while maintaining a creative edge

Fashion design is by nature a creative pursuit, but fashion guru Kathleen Kye stressed that balancing one’s entrepreneurial mindset with one’s innovative vision is important in the world of design. Speaking at the Herald Design Forum 2023 at the Shilla Seoul on Tuesday, the CEO and director of fashion brand KYE and EYEYE emphasized that having a business mindset helps foster one’s leadership and problem-solving abilities. In her lecture titled “How to Cultivate an Entrepr

Sept. 19, 2023

[Herald Design Forum 2023] Fashion designer, architect Francesco Scianni talks aboug defining new fashion trends

At this moment in history, a period of constant change, where "social" plays a key role and where news and information quickly become outdated, understanding and anticipating the public's taste is a complicated task. Speaking at the Herald Design Forum on Tuesday at the Shilla Seoul, Francesco Scianni, a member of Project Group SRL, a group that specializes in style consultancy and trends research, and the owner of the brand Lebelleforme and Fashion & Design Lab, said a new

Sept. 19, 2023

[Herald Design Forum 2023] Edward Lee places automotive design at heart of humanity

When Alpha Motor Corporation unveiled its Wolf electric truck at the 2023 Seoul Mobility Show this spring, Edward Lee, the founder, CEO and chairman of the board of the US-based EV startup, presented a key solution for a healthier future -- design. As the chief architect of Alpha Motor, which earned the title of "2023 EV Manufacturer of the Year, California" at the Corporate LiveWire Global Awards, Lee is dedicated to commercializing cutting-edge automobiles and innovative mobility

Sept. 19, 2023