Why paint flowers in 2019?

The still-life painting genre may not hold much appeal for contemporary artists, since it does not leave much room for new discoveries. Flower paintings might be seen as especially outmoded. But in an art scene dominated by conceptual art, local painter Kim Sung-yoon’s focus on flowers is as bold as it is refreshing. “Many expressed worries when I said I wanted to paint flowers, but I think flower paintings are still a good means to communicate with the viewers,” Kim said durin

July 7, 2019

Ivanka Trump makes headlines by donning Korean designer’s dress

White House adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump turned heads during her recent visit to South Korea by wearing a dress designed by a Korean designer.Trump, known as a fashion enthusiast, arrived in Korea with US President Donald Trump last Saturday. During a forum held Sunday to discuss gender role issues at Grand Hyatt Seoul, she sported an ivory coat-style dress.  The dress was designed by designer Jong Go-en who leads her namesake label Goen.J. The creation was a part of the 2019 Re

July 5, 2019

A look into nature and wildlife, beyond our reach

An ongoing Seoul exhibition highlights unique moments that internationally well-known photographers have captured to reveal the natural environments beyond our reach, through National Geographic’s photographs. The exhibition at the Hangaram Art Museum at the Seoul Arts Center, titled “Nature’s Odyssey,” presents images taken in part to bring attention to pressing environmental issues, according an exhibition organizer.British photographer Robbie Shone’s photo of a l

July 2, 2019

Ahn Eun-me turns museum space into dance stage

Ahn Eun-me is a one-of-a-kind Korean contemporary dancer. Even then, not many would expect to see her in an art museum. “It is strange to look back on my own past 30 years,” Ahn said during a press conference held Wednesday at the SeMA’s main branch in Seosomun-dong, Seoul, where a solo exhibition of her work is underwayTitled “Known Future,” the show comprises installations, video works, sounds, archive materials and performances.A statue of Ahn, painted in glitter

July 1, 2019

[Eye Plus] The streets that once led the nation’s garment industry

Dull knocking sounds and clunky noises from sewing machines resonate through the streets of Changsin-dong. Inside the sweatshops that line the streets, clothes are scattered here and there and colorful rolls of fabric are stacked on shelves. Located in Seoul’s central district of Jongno, this area has for many decades been the mecca of the country’s garment industry. Here stands Lumpium, the Sewing History Museum, a four-story building built in 2018 by the city government.On dis

June 27, 2019

Barbara Kruger’s makes her way to Seoul, with new works in Korean

The Amorepacific Museum of Art is holding a Barbara Kruger solo exhibition, featuring 44 works from the conceptual artist’s four-decade career, ranging from early paste-ups to new work produced in Korean. Titled “Barbara Kruger: Forever,” the show marks her first solo exhibition in Asia.Kruger, born in 1945, is an internationally acclaimed American artist best known for works that combine images and text to convey a feminist cultural critique. More broadly, the artist has been

June 27, 2019

Matthew Stone: Longing for something real in this digital age

People listen to digitally rendered music, but most people are not familiar with digital paintings.Choi & Larger Gallery in Seoul is holding a solo exhibition of works by London-based artist Matthew Stone, featuring some 20 digital paintings under the title “Small Awakenings.”  Stone utilizes both traditional painting tools and new technologies in his art, which usually requires twice as much time to make because of the additional processes involved.Stone first makes brushs

June 26, 2019

‘Berlin Portraits’: Kim Ok-sun spotlights Korean nurses who began new lives in Germany

Portraits are not the most favored of items for art collectors. Not many people want strangers’ photos hanging on their walls. But artist Kim Ok-sun continues to take photographs of people because she is drawn to them. Atelier Hermes in Seoul is holding a solo exhibition of Kim’s works under the title “Berlin Portraits,” featuring some 25 large portraits of Korean nurses who went to work in West Germany in the 1960s and ’70s and settled there, starting new lives. Th

June 25, 2019

Exploring apartments in Korea through art

From monodrama and contemporary dance performances to interviews and a lecture, Doosan Art Center has tied various art forms to explore apartments in South Korea.“Post APT,” a multidisciplinary show, recalls the history, issues and stories that associated with apartments to get the audience to reflect on the dominant form of housing here. “Post APT” is co-produced by choreographer Jung Young-doo, architect Chung I-sak, film director Paik Jong-kwan and composer Kayip. It i

June 23, 2019

[Eye Plus] Seoul -- an open runway where life and fashion coexist

Raised aisles stretch out under the glare of the spotlight, chic models parade up and down the catwalk, top-notch designers give brusque last-minute directions, and front-row celebrities flaunt their outfits for the cameras.This is how runways are often perceived by the general public -- sophisticated yet disconnected from everyday life.But what if fashion shows broke out of the conventional frame and models posed in the streets, under natural light and at eye level with the audience? Every part

June 21, 2019

Daegu show sheds light on painter who influenced ’80s minjung art

A relatively unknown painter, Park Saeng-kwang, is being highlighted at a Daegu museum in an attempt to reassess the artist. Although the artist’s name is not familiar to most of us, he is considered to have influenced many artists who came after him. Though he did not have any direct ties to minjung art -- a sociopolitical art movement that emerged in South Korea in the 1980s – he greatly influenced the movement, said the Daegu Art Museum’s chief curator, Lee Jin-myung.Born in

June 19, 2019

New art appraisal company enters market

A new art appraisal company has recently launched its services, filling a void created after the disbandment of a major player in the field here. Previously, local art appraisal services were offered mainly by a network consisting of the Korean Art Appraisal Board and the Korean Art Appraisal Association in cooperation with the Galleries Association of Korea. The appraisal board opened in 2001 and started to offer appraisal and authentication services in cooperation with the Korean Art Appr

June 18, 2019

Little luxuries from France

Luxury parasols and umbrellas, with elaborate embroidery and lace, precious tortoiseshell handles and silver and ivory shafts offer a glimpse into the French culture of luxury in the 17th to 20th centuries. Platform-L, a modern and contemporary art venue in Seoul, is holding “Summer Bloom,” an exhibition featuring antique French umbrellas and parasols from different periods, collected by Michel Heurtault. Born in 1966, Heurtault may be the only state-certificated master in the world

June 17, 2019

[Weekender] Perfect your summer look

Summer is here, which means it is time to update your wardrobe to match the warmer weather. From neon colors to tie-dye, summer 2019 is going to be a season of bright colors and playful fun. Here are some style tips, from runways, concept stores and local brands’ catalogs, for you to perfect your look this summer. Tie-dye The retro megatrend has brought the hippie era’s tie-dye prints back to life this season. From Prada to R13 and Stella McCartney, 2019 spring-summer runways ma

June 14, 2019

[Weekender] Beat the heat with cool apparel

In the world of menswear, mesh, seersucker and linen have long been traditional summer fabrics. But the latest trends show innovative, new cooling fabrics and technologies at the forefront of men’s fashion, from performance wear all the way to formal business attire.With the summer heat swooshing in earlier than expected, outdoor brand K2 is seeing an early pickup in sales of its Ossak line of cool apparel, the company said. “Sales of cooling shirts have increased since May, and our

June 14, 2019

MMCA sheds new light on late Korean artist Quac In-sik

Fractured pieces of a glass pane are put together in artist Quac In-sik’s works. The broken glass bears impressions of the heavy metal ball that fell on it, dramatically revealing the materiality of the fragile object.Quac’s experimental works have greatly influenced many artists who came after him, but his works have been unheralded. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Gwacheon branch is holding a Quac retrospective, part of its attempt to reassess the artist&

June 12, 2019

‘Is it mine if I add some yellow?’ -- B. D. Graft makes his mark

It all started as a young college student’s escapism. For Brian de Graft, making collages was a form of recreation, something to take his mind off his studies. His hobby went viral online and now he makes a living out of it. Graft is an Amsterdam-based German artist who has become popular for the yellow collages on his Instagram page. The Instagram influencer-artist is holding an exhibition at a space owned by local fashion brand Mutemuse, located near Seoul Forest in Seongdong-gu, S

June 9, 2019

[Weekender] At 77, silver model dreams of big show

News last month that Fenty, a luxury fashion house Rihanna launched with LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, chose 67-year-old model JoAni Johnson to represent its new collection created much buzz in the fashion world. With long, graceful silver hair, she is a model in every aspect, and the epitome of what’s been called a fashion “graynaissance”: the rise of gray-haired models to the forefront of fashion. Choi Soon-hwa may be Korea’s Johnson. At 77 years old, she strut

June 7, 2019

Paul Smith says ‘Hi’ to Seoul in exhibition showing his world

Paul Smith is a name well known around the world, but the renowned fashion designer says he never assumes that people know who he is. This, he explained, is why the exhibition “Hello, My Name is Paul Smith,” which kicked off Thursday in Seoul, is based on his character. It offers a look inside his world, encompassing his thought process, work and path toward success.  “(My personality) is very low-key, feet on the ground personality. … It is an exhibition which lit

June 6, 2019

Ancient Greek artifacts travel to Seoul

An exhibition featuring hundreds of ancient Greek artifacts is being held at Seoul Art Center’s Hangaram Art Museum. The exhibition, titled “The Greeks: From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great,” features some 350 artifacts gathered from 24 local museums in Greece, including the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and the Archaeological Museum of Pella. The exhibition is designed to allow the visitor to explore the cultures of the region, from the early Aegean civiliza

June 6, 2019