British artist Julian Opie is presenting his third solo exhibition at Kukje Gallery in Seoul, after two solo exhibitions in the country in 2017 and 2018. Inspired by familiar subjects from everyday life, Opie presents 31 works that span the gallery’s K2 and K3 exhibition halls, as well as its garden. The artist became well known in South Korea after he made a strong presence in Seoul in 2011 with his light-emitting diode art piece “Crowd,” displayed via Seoul Square’s l

Arts & Design Oct. 24, 2021

A painting shows a woman kneeling in a forest trying to catch fireflies raining down on her as if they are blessing the woman; another shows a woman holding a jar that contains dry branches, but outside the jar, they turn into cherry blossoms, as if to say good days will come after cold and painful days. “My paintings have nothing to do with ‘-isms’ or trends. They are about my ordinary life, so you don’t have to approach them in a difficult way. You don’t need b

People Oct. 23, 2021

Four Korean promising artists unveiled their works at the exhibition “Korea Artist Prize 2021” at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Seoul. The final winner of the exhibition -- to be chosen by a jury -- will be announced early next year. The four artists– Kim Sang-jin, Bang Jeong-a, Oh Min and Choi Chan-sook -- are showing works that were newly commissioned for the exhibition, and reveal their concerns as artists. Choi Chan-sook has focused on l

Arts & Design Oct. 23, 2021

Korean abstract artist Park Seo-bo was awarded South Korea’s highest cultural honor, the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, in a ceremony held at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul on Friday. “Park has played a pivotal role in introducing Korean abstract art globally, pioneering ‘dansaekhwa’ art that represents Korean art today,“ the Culture Ministry said in the selection of Park for the honor. Park was previously the recipient of two other Order of Cultura

People Oct. 22, 2021

The annual KIAF Seoul closed Sunday, attracting a record number of visitors and sales during the five-day fair at Coex in southern Seoul. Marking its 20th anniversary, the fair has become the hottest festival in the country among art fans, attracting interest in art among the general public. Around 5,000 people visited on the first day of the “VVIP” opening, raising 35 billion won ($29.5 million) in sales, surpassing the total sales of 31 billion won in 2019 when the fair was held p

Arts & Design Oct. 18, 2021

While Lee Bul is globally known for her installations best represented by the Cyborg and Anagram series, the mixed media paintings that she has been pursuing on the side are relatively unknown. Referring to the pieces as being between sculpture and painting, they are an extension of her sculpture work. Lee’s newly created Perdu series painted with acrylic, ground stones and mother-of pearl were repeatedly layered using a brush and then scrubbed to create a sculpture-like texture. Lee di

Arts & Design Oct. 17, 2021

When Lee Young-chul, an art professor at Kaywon University of Art & Design, proposed to direct the Korean Pavilion for the next year’s Venice Biennale, he felt like the Korean Pavilion should “ring a bell” at the biennale after the world has been going through the pandemic turmoil. The idea came to him while he was arranging his bookshelves and reencountered the book “La Citta del Sole (The City of the Sun),” by Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639), who was an Itali

Arts & Design Oct. 16, 2021

In the 1970s, when it was still a struggle for South Korean women to establish art careers, a group of female students from the Hongik University College of Fine Arts gathered together to break stereotypes and defy conservative social norms. In 1982 they formed Hongik Women Artists Association and held an exhibition, which has continued every year uninterrupted for 40 years. Now the 40-year anniversary exhibition -- “Hongik Root Now! Again!” -- is running at the Hongik Museum of A

Arts & Design Oct. 15, 2021

As the opening of KIAF Seoul 2021 at 3 p.m. on Wednesday drew near, there was already a long line of avid art lovers of various ages waiting to check in at Coex in southern Seoul. Korea’s largest annual international art fair is being held physically for the first time after it went online on its viewing room platform after the global COVID-19 pandemic hit early last year. Nearly 5,000 people visited the fair on the first day, which was open to VVIPs and the press, proving that people

Arts & Design Oct. 14, 2021

BTS’ V was spotted by a Korea Herald reporter Wednesday evening at KIAF Seoul 2021, South Korea’s largest international art fair being held at Coex in southern Seoul. V, wearing a Louis Vuitton jacket and a cap, was seen strolling around the exhibition hall. When the reporter approached him and asked if he was V from BTS, he first denied it: “Nope, no I am not.” After a few seconds of eye contact, he said, “Sorry, yes, I am.” He made a 90-degree bow and

Arts & Design Oct. 14, 2021

The Espace Louis Vuitton Seoul has opened its third collection exhibition “Andy Warhol: Looking for Andy” showcasing self-portraits by the American pop artist selected from the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s collection. The works range from Warhol’s early self-portrait photos to his late pieces that reveal various facets of the artist. The highlight of the exhibition is Warhol’s iconic self-portrait that he created before his sudden death in 1987. With his ghostly pal

Arts & Design Oct. 12, 2021

  The Haeden Museum of Art in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, is running a solo exhibition of Korean sculptor Kim Gyoung-min who takes inspiration from ordinary lives and humorously reflects the moments in her sculptures. The exhibition features the theme of happiness, which is prominent thread in her artistic portfolio. Kim showcases some 50 artworks at the exhibition which runs through March 27, 2022, inside and outside of the museum. “I seek for ordinary subjects from our lives so that

People Oct. 11, 2021

As competition in the Korean art market become more heated than ever, The Korea International Art Fair will kick off on Wednesday at Coex in southern Seoul, ahead of its joint shows next year with Frieze, a leading contemporary art fair. The country’s largest international art fair has been highly anticipated among art collectors excited to see artworks in person as the fair is being held physically for the first time in two years. Around 170 galleries from home and abroad are expected

Arts & Design Oct. 11, 2021

Benjamin Hubert, founder of London-based design studio Layer, has long pondered how he can contribute to the world as a designer, creating products that satisfy consumers and that are beneficial to society at the same time. The pandemic has led him to think about the issue more deeply. “There is a lot of greenwashing that happens where it is quite difficult to understand what is truly sustainable. Designers are responsible for some of that, but it takes a group of people and a village

People Oct. 7, 2021

Contemporary artist Lee Kun-yong lets the natural movements of his body dictate where the lines fall on the canvas. Instead of directly facing the canvas he stands behind or against it, and sometimes next to it without seeing his work as he is creating it. Lee named the series “Body Scape,” presenting nine painting methodologies that he created since 1976. “Lee Kun-yong: Body Scape” at Gallery Hyundai in central Seoul shows how Lee developed the series over the decade

Arts & Design Oct. 7, 2021