New work by video artist Kim Hee-cheon, acclaimed for his insight into the contemporary technological environment and culture, articulates uncertainty to viewers with his interpretation of the experience of horror. Entering the exhibition hall at Atelier Hermes, visitors will be baffled as nothing will be visible in the dark at first and all you will hear is the sound of someone speaking. Soon after, on two screens, a story will start to unfold evolving around Chanjong, the head coach of a hig

Arts & Design July 31, 2024

British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks (right) and Executive Director of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Donna-Maria Cullen pose for a photo on Tuesday, holding a statuette of the Club's historic cockerel presented to the ambassador during a breakfast reception at the ambassador's residence. The English football club is on a week-long preseason tour of Korea, playing two matches in the Coupang Play Series -- against Team K-League on Wednesday and FC Bayern on Saturday. (Courtesy of t

People July 30, 2024

Those who purchase art in South Korea can ask for a certificate that guarantees the authenticity of the work, while artists will be guaranteed royalties every time their work is resold in the art market, according to the newly enacted Art Promotion Act. The Art Promotion Act and its enforcement decree partly went into effect Friday, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. While people could ask for a type of document that identify that the artwork is authentic when purchasing

Arts & Design July 28, 2024

The National Museum of Korea will award the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art $1.4 million as part of its overseas Korean Galleries Support Program. It marks the largest grant ever awarded by Korea's state-run museum to any institution. The grant will be awarded over four years to help the museum expand the program that aims to deepen the public's interest in Korean art and culture. The program includes reinstalling the museum’s permanent collection of Korean art i

Arts & Design July 24, 2024

A revision to the Cultural Heritage Preservation and Utilization Act's enforcement decree that had banned works of art at least 50 years old from being taken out of the country went into effect Tuesday, allowing for Korean art created after 1946 to be moved out of the country more easily. The art circle welcomed the long-awaited change, which, they said, would make it possible to more effectively promote Korean contemporary art. The previous enforcement decree required any transportable art

Arts & Design July 23, 2024

Apartments constitute the most typical residential form across South Korea's cities, accounting for more than half of all housing in the country. Most people rarely have a chance to think critically about what options other than apartments might be possible. The newly opened exhibition “Performative Home: Architecture for Alternative Living” at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, gets visitors to think outside the box about

Arts & Design July 22, 2024

Anyone familiar with the Songpa-gu neighborhood of southern Seoul may be aware of the tall old water purification tower that has been left unused for the past 20 years. The 32-meter eyesore has long been a topic of discussion as to whether it should be demolished or not. The water purification tower, built in 1986, once held 600 tons of water daily for purification, however, it ceased operations in early 2004 following changes in the water supply system. Now the tower has gained new life as the

Arts & Design July 19, 2024

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has appointed Hwang Sun-woo as its inaugural Korea Foundation Curator of Korean Art and Culture. Hwang will shape a major Korean art loan exhibition scheduled for 2025–2026 with the National Museum of Korea, featuring masterworks recently donated by the family of former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Hwang was selected for the position in April, which was made possible by a matching gift from the Korea Foundation to promote Korean a

Arts & Design July 18, 2024

Exhibitions are in full swing for the summer. Koenig Seoul is presenting a group exhibition of female Asian artists. Gallery Hyundai is hosting a solo exhibition of Korean artist Lee Seul-gi for the first time in six years. And British artist Billy Childish's unique brush strokes and color use shown at Lehmann Maupin is another must-see exhibition this month. Female Asian artists at Koenig Seoul A group exhibition of 12 female Asian artists is on view at Koenig Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, ma

Arts & Design July 18, 2024

Frieze Seoul and Kiaf Seoul mark their third collaboration in early September as they bring together a variety of art programs across the city, with some 320 galleries from around the world participating. Internationally renowned art fair Frieze Seoul and the home-grown international art fair Kiaf Seoul will kick off at Coex in southern Seoul on Sept. 4. Frieze Seoul will run through Sept. 7 and Kiaf Seoul through Sept. 8. The two art fairs will co-host a talk program in collaboration with the K

Arts & Design July 17, 2024

One rarely imagines how the present world would be remembered and seen a thousand years later. American artist Daniel Arsham’s solo exhibition at Lotte Museum of Art in Seoul does just that. Arsham has shown works based on the concept of “fictional archaeology” that he created inspired by archaeologists. The artist imagines everyday objects of today as artifacts excavated in the future, creating an ambiguity about the period we inhabit. The exhibition titled “Daniel Arsha

Arts & Design July 16, 2024

Korean media art will be presented in Paris in July to coincide with the 2024 Summer Olympics featuring video art founder Paik Nam-june and leading Korean contemporary media artists. The exhibition “Decoding Korea, La Coree Decodee” will be held from July 26 to Aug. 25 at the Grand Palais Immersif, an art center dedicated to digital art in Paris, hosted by the South Korean Culture Ministry and organized by the Korea Arts Management Service. A total of 18 media artworks by 11 artist

Arts & Design July 14, 2024

A native of Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, Bang Se-hwan took the office of Gwangju mayor in 2022. Asked about the characteristics of the city, Bang, who has lived in the city his whole life, stressed its history. “Gwangju has a very beautiful nature that has been maintained throughout its 1,000-year history. The city was named ‘Gwangju’ in 940 by King Taejo of Goryeo (918-1392),” Bang said during an interview with The Korea Herald on Friday at the city hall. Gwangju in Gyeon

Culture July 10, 2024

Internationally renowned Korean artist Yang Hae-gue will have her first major museum exhibition in the UK at the Hayward Gallery in October, surveying her artistic practice from the early 2000s to date. The exhibition at the gallery located on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, “Haegue Yang: Leap Year,” arranged in five thematic sections, will include three new commissions for the exhibition as well as some of her most notable series: “Light Sculptures,” &ldquo

Arts & Design July 4, 2024

Gagosian, one of the largest international galleries today, will hold its debut exhibition in South Korea in September, presenting new works by multidisciplinary artist Derrick Adams, whose work expands narratives of Black life and culture. The exhibition “Derrick Adams: The Strip” will kick off Sept. 3 at APMA Cabinet, a project space on the ground floor of the Amorepacific Headquarters in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. The exhibition will coincide with the third edition of Frieze Seoul

Arts & Design July 2, 2024