The Kumho Museum of Art has been showcasing South Korea's emerging young artists through the "Kumho Young Artist" exhibition since 2004. Organized by the Kumho Cultural Foundation, this annual art exhibition features a selection of six artists each year, with their works presented in two consecutive shows. In the second session of the "Kumho Young Artist" exhibition, artists Lee Hee-joon, Lim No-sik and Hyun Seung-eui have unveiled their works across the museum. The exhi

Arts & Design June 9, 2023

Hong Kong waffles at Ikseon-dong hanok village It would be a perfect weather this weekend to stroll around the maze-like hanok village at Ikseon-dong in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. The narrow alleys that run through this cluster of traditional houses are paced with hip cafes, restaurants, pubs and shops. Among the cafes is Iksun Jutaek, literally meaning Iksun house, which offers Hong Kong-style bubble waffles. Bubble waffles, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, are a common street sna

Culture June 9, 2023

White Cube, one of the world’s leading galleries, will open in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, which will become the gallery's second space in Asia after Hong Kong. The space will be unveiled this fall, the gallery announced Thursday. The gallery will be located in Sinsa-dong, close to Dosan Park and other cultural institutions such as the SONGEUN Art and Cultural Foundation and the nonprofit Atelier Hermes gallery. The gallery space is located in a ceramic-encased building, which is also

Arts & Design June 9, 2023

Thaddaeus Ropac Seoul will expand its current space in the Fort Hill building in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, doubling the exhibition space with the addition of a ground-floor gallery, the European gallery announced Thursday. The gallery opened its first space in Asia in October 2021 to expand its presence in the Asian market. Austrian gallerist Thaddaeus Ropac has been running galleries for 40 years, operating spaces in Salzburg, London, Paris and Seoul. The gallery represents more than 60 art

Arts & Design June 9, 2023

French artist Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) encompassed different art styles throughout his career. Influenced by impressionism in the 19th century, his art began to evolve, interacting with other movements ranging from post-impressionism and fauvism to cubism. As a result of multi-faceted approach, Dufy’s name is not as easily recognized in South Korea as Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse or Pablo Picasso -- representative artists in the movements which he incorporated into his works. However, thi

Arts & Design June 6, 2023

After the inaugural Frieze Seoul saw a successful launch last year, the global art fair is gearing up for its second event early September with stronger participation from galleries based in Asia, especially those with physical art spaces in South Korea. The portion of galleries from Asia has increased to 41 percent from the last edition of 31 percent. Among some 120 galleries this year, 49 galleries are from throughout Asia, although the number of participating galleries is subject to change at

Arts & Design June 4, 2023

The National Gallery, London has arrived in Seoul at the National Museum of Korea with its collection of 52 paintings encompassing the Renaissance, Baroque and post-impressionism from the early 20th century. The British museum’s works, which are currently touring across Asia, were unveiled Thursday in Seoul, curated by the NMK, and focus on how the perspective of western art shifted from God to humans with the advent of the Renaissance, after passing through the medieval period. The exhibi

Arts & Design June 1, 2023

Hakgojae Gallery in Seoul has brought together two artists from Germany and South Korea, Thomas Scheibitz and Park Young-ha. While the two artists' works may feel different in style, visitors may find one thing in common: They both reveal their inner thoughts through visual language and make people think outside the box. It is the second solo show for Scheibitz at the gallery following his last in 2019. The newly opened exhibition titled “Thomas Scheibitz: Jennifer in Paradise,"

Arts & Design June 1, 2023

Installation artist Kwon Chi-gyu’s solo exhibition “Resilience” opened Friday at Posco Art Museum in Seoul as the museum's first solo show this year. Inspired by nature, Kwon delved into the concept of resilience with the belief that every life has the power to overcome. Running through June 28, the exhibition will show 20 of Kwon's works under the theme of “resilience,” including his newly created paintings and installations. A visitor to the exhibition w

Arts & Design May 26, 2023

Plastic Art Seoul 2023, an art fair dedicated to sculptures and installation works, kicked off Thursday, strengthening PLAS' ties with other art fairs in Taiwan and Canada. Ninety-six galleries including 11 galleries from overseas are participating at the 8th edition of the fair being held under the theme of “New Dream.” More than 800 artists’ works are on display during the four-day art fair that runs through Sunday at Coex in southern Seoul. PLAS recently entered into

Arts & Design May 26, 2023

American artist Robert Indiana’s iconic sculpture “LOVE” was recently found vandalized in central Seoul with “Zombra” graffitied with spray paint on the letter “V.” The sculpture, installed outside the headquarters of Daishin Securities in Jungu-gu, Seoul, is known as the one of a few such sculptures in South Korea. The sculpture was found with the graffiti on Tuesday, according to the securities firm. “We are assuming the work was damaged on Monda

Arts & Design May 24, 2023

Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, has been a huge inspiration for the artist Kim Bo-seong, who has also published seven poetry collections. He has created a variety of artworks from paintings to installations inspired by the consonant and vowel characters of Korean. The artist showcased his new works at the Maru Art Center in Insadong, Jongno-gu, central Seoul. There are 14 basic consonants or ‘jaeum’ in Korean, some of which were turned into paintings by Kim. Korean letters are not ju

Arts & Design May 24, 2023

In early 2022, the Gwangju Biennale Foundation announced the launch of an art award named after 91-year-old artist Park Seo-bo. The purpose of the award was to “contribute to creating a healthy art environment” and "elevate the status of the Biennale,” according to the foundation's press release. The award was made possible thanks to $1 million of prize money donated by Park, South Korea’s leading contemporary artist who pioneered Korea’s famous art genre,

Arts & Design May 24, 2023

2023 Korea Craft Week kicked off Friday with more than 880 galleries, studios and institutes of craft art across the country to showcase a variety of craft art. The craft week is the largest government-led craft festival in South Korea. The craft week includes 1,835 programs related to craft art inviting people to join the festival across cities from Friday to May 28. This year’s edition will center on Bukchon, an old town in central Seoul full of traditional houses, located next to the

Arts & Design May 19, 2023

Korea’s contemporary art master Kim Whan-ki (1913-1974) is well known for dense dot paintings that fill the entire canvas and his signature blue color. Following extensive renovations, the Hoam Museum of Art in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, reopens Thursday with a large-scale retrospective of the artist. The museum, run by Samsung Foundation of Culture and the Leeum Museum of Art, is reopening after an 18-month renovation. Such a retrospective of Kim's 40-year career is rare, although

Arts & Design May 17, 2023