Online traditional ritual to offer comfort in pandemic times

The Korea National University of Arts (KNUA) kicked off the Ars Electronica Garden Seoul Festival to present diverse ideas on how society would transform after the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival is part of the 2020 Ars Electronica Festival, an international new media art festival held annually in Linz, Austria, every September. Due to the pandemic, the festival has been expanded to both online and offline with more than 120 organizations participating across the globe under the theme of &l

Sept. 11, 2020

Busan Biennale scrambles to put on a show in pandemic times

When the second wave of COVID-19 infections hit South Korea in late August, forcing people to suspend many of their daily activities, the Busan Biennale‘s organizing committee went into crisis mode. With the government announcing that strict social distancing rules would remain nationwide until Sept. 20, the Busan Biennale 2020 -- the international contemporary art show scheduled to open Sept. 5 in the southern port city of Busan -- had to quickly change its plans only a few days before

Sept. 9, 2020

Korea's largest art fair to go online as pandemic continues

Korean International Art Fair(KIAF), the largest international art fair in Korea, will go online as the government’s strengthened social distancing system continues, the KIAF Art Seoul Committee announced Monday. KIAF Art Show 2020 – which was scheduled to be held in late September at Coex in southern Seoul -- will take place online through Online Viewing Room, showcasing around 4,000 works of art from 143 galleries from home and abroad. The number of participating galleries, howe

Sept. 7, 2020

Utopia of Asian, Western mythologies comes to Gallery Hyundai

A painter widely known for the Minjung Art sociopolitical movement that flourished in the 1980s, Choi Min-hwa has unveiled his new “Once Upon a Time” painting series that has been 20 years in the making, inviting viewers to enter a utopia he envisions as integrating the mythologies of the West and the East. The exhibition, “Once Upon a Time,” at Gallery Hyundai showcases 60 paintings and 40 sketches by Choi that were inspired by “Samguk Yusa,” a collection o

Sept. 7, 2020

[Eye Plus] A digital seascape for modern Seoulites

In the age of COVID-19 and the prolonged lockdown, getaways to nature and relaxing summer holidays no longer seem available for urban dwellers. A’strict, a multimedia installation showcase by design company d’strict to run from Aug. 13 to Sept. 27 at Seoul’s Kukje Gallery, may be an attractive alternative for those dreaming of seascapes and serenity. Driven by a relentless interest in the interaction between mankind and technology, along with the burgeoning importance of dig

Sept. 5, 2020

Indonesian visual art talks about war, peace in Seoul

Indonesian visual artist Eko Nugroho is holding his second solo exhibition in Korea at Arario Gallery Seoul, showcasing 20 works of embroidered paintings and acrylic paintings anchored in Indonesian traditions. The exhibition, “Lost in Parody,” presents largescale embroidered works measured over 4.5 meters in length which were produced using traditional embroidery techniques and batik, a traditional method of dyeing textiles. Nugroho has been making embroidered paintings since 2

Sept. 3, 2020

Furniture designer Ha Ji-hoon, Living and Arts Creative Center win Craft Prize 2020

Furniture designer Ha Ji-hoon and the Living and Arts Creative Center -- a social enterprise that promotes craft art -- were selected for Craft Prize 2020, an annual craft award organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Crafts & Design Foundation. The annual award is given to craft artists or institutions that have contributed to promoting the beauty of craft art at home and abroad. The creativity section of the award went to furniture designer Ha Ji-hoon wh

Sept. 2, 2020

[Photo News] Media art displayed on digital signage in Seoul

Starfield Coex Mall in Gangnam, southern Seoul, is holding a media art exhibition titled “Cube9” to commemorate its installation of ultrahigh-definition LED signage. Cube9 presents impressionist paintings of various artists in video format on the signage, providing shoppers another type of entertainment at the mall. The exhibition will run through Sunday. (Photos: Shinsegae Property Starfield-Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

Aug. 29, 2020

Print Bakery turns into upscale multicultural space

Print Bakery by Seoul Auction in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, has turned into an upscale multicultural complex. The art store reopened on Aug. 14, after going through an extensive renovation, under a new brand name, Print Bakery X Collector, according to the company. Print Bakery, which is run by Seoul Auction, the largest art auction firm in Korea, has eight branches across the country. The flagship store in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul will offer premium print editions of artworks

Aug. 29, 2020

Atelier Hermes explores blurred line of reality, fiction at new exhibition ‘Elsewhere’

Atelier Hermes -- a nonprofit gallery in Seoul run by Fondation d’Entreprise Hermes -- has brought together rising South Korean contemporary artists around the theme of “Elsewhere.” “Elsewhere” -- which opened Friday and runs through Oct. 25 -- showcases five new works by five Korean contemporary artists that explore the domains of the psyche and the subconscious, questioning our visual perception. Artists Kim Dong-hee, Kim Hee-cheon, Noh Sang-ho, Son Kwang-ju

Aug. 28, 2020

Gana Art to show Ji Yong-ho’s ‘New Mutant’ series made with 3D printing

Gana Art, a major commercial art gallery in Korea, will host the solo exhibition of sculptor Ji Yong-ho, who is widely known for his “Mutant” series of giant animal sculptures made from abandoned tires. The upcoming exhibition aims to show how his mutant series has developed with the use of new techniques and different materials. With the “New Mutant” series Ji’s previous mutants have been turned into new mutant sculptures reproduced with 3D modeling techniques.

Aug. 26, 2020

MMCA launches online shop offering books, merchandise

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, has launched an online store that offers nearly 500 items including exhibition catalogs and books. The online store has 57 exhibition catalogs as well as books. Some have been translated into English, including “The Transnational Museum,” “What Do Museums Collect?” “MMCA Collection 300” and “Architecture and Heritage: Unearthing Future.” Museum merchandise such as postcards, magnets an

Aug. 25, 2020

National Museum of Korea acquires two state-designated treasures from Kansong Art Museum

The National Museum of Korea announced Monday that it has purchased two state-designated treasures from the Kansong Art Museum. The newly acquired items -- Treasure No. 284, Gilt-Bronze Standing Buddha, and Treasure No. 285, Gilt-Bronze Standing Bodhisattva -- will be displayed in the museum’s permanent exhibition hall when it reopens. The museum shut down Aug. 16 after one of its employees tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The two state-designated treasures were put up for a

Aug. 24, 2020

Yeol Society to present Korean beauty at ornament exhibition in Sept

Yeol Korean Heritage Preservation Society, a private organization founded to promote Korean beauty and cultural heritage, will host its first exhibition of the year, presenting the beauty of Korean craft art from 12 promising artists. The exhibition, “Ornament,” will be held from Sept. 1 to 28 at Yeol Bukchonga in central Seoul, showcasing a variety of ornaments and scarves that feature Korean traditional beauty from nine craft artists and three textile artists. The artists includ

Aug. 23, 2020

[Photo News] Exhibition offers artists’ view of pandemic

The Daegu Culture & Arts Center in Dalseo, Daegu, is hosting an exhibition titled “Pandemic & Daegu.” The event kicked off Wednesday and will run until Aug. 30. The exhibition presents a range of mask-inspired artworks created by members of the Daegu Contemporary Artists Association and many foreign artists, including eight from France. (Photos: Yonhap) By Lee Sae-byul (nstelle@heraldcorp.com)

Aug. 22, 2020

Seoul Auction collaborates with Artsy as pandemic jeopardizes HK auctions

Seoul Auction is holding an online auction in conjunction with Artsy, a global art sale platform, featuring artworks by Korean masters as well as international artists, such as Damien Hirst and KAWS. South Korea’s largest auction firm is running a preview until Sept. 1 at the Seoul Auction Gangnam Center. The “Artsy x Seoul Auction: Splash! Splash!” will show around 80 art pieces by artists from 11 countries. The total value of the pieces estimated at around $780,000. It

Aug. 22, 2020

[Herald Interview] Osgemeos invites visitors to their dream, ‘You Are My Guest’

Meaning “The Twins” in Portuguese, Osgemeos is a Brazilian artist duo and brothers, Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, whose graffiti works are internationally renowned. Having started out as graffiti artists, their art world of fantasies and dreams now encompasses paintings, video art and sculptures. At the pair’s first solo exhibition in Korea, “Osgemeos: You Are My Guest,” the artist duo invites visitors to their world dream. Upon entering the exhibition hall, &ld

Aug. 17, 2020

[67th Anniversary Special] Pandemic changes paradigm for museums, galleries

If you are an art lover, you might have been overwhelmed by the recent flood of online content that museums and galleries have posted on their websites or social media platforms. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, almost all museums were forced to close temporarily. Thus began their efforts to enhance online content, offering virtual exhibitions, online streaming services and online access to material from their archives about their collection and research. “Museums, museum profes

Aug. 16, 2020

Asia Culture Center prepares to light up the night with 5-month exhibition

The Asia Culture Center, an international arts and cultural exchange organization based in Gwangju, announced Friday that it will be hosting a multimedia art project titled the Hall of Night Light, designed to illuminate the night sky through a range of light shows and interactive art installations from August 15 to December 31. Throughout the event, the center will transform into a colorful playground packed full of interactive multimedia art pieces, and feature dazzling light shows which w

Aug. 14, 2020

D’strict expands into art industry with collective art unit

Design company d’strict, which gained global attention in May with its immersive video art installation “Wave” at Coex K-pop Square, has launched a media artist unit “a-strict,” and is showcasing its first exhibition at Kukje Gallery, a commercial gallery in central Seoul. The commercial design company’s a’strict is a loose group of artistic creators from both inside and outside the company. The members are freely formed based on an art project, said

Aug. 14, 2020