Old and new: Restored Paik Nam-june masterpiece at MMCA to have mix of LED and CRT monitors

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, first raised the idea of restoring video art pioneer Paik Nam-June’s largest installation work, “The More the Better,” after it was shut down in 2018 due to technical problems. The museum is conducting a three-year restoration project for the masterpiece, which began last year. “We are replacing 268 CRT monitors, which are 6 or 10 inches, installed at the upper part of the video tower, with LED monitors. We will

Nov. 29, 2021

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist shares ‘unforgettable images’ of Korea

Korean American photojournalist Hyungwon Kang shares “unforgettable images about Korean culture and history” at an exhibition at the Canon Gallery in southern Seoul, which kicked off Tuesday. Kang is the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, one in 1993 for his coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots for the Los Angeles Times and one in 1999 for his coverage of the Bill Clinton impeachment and the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal for the Associated Press. The award-winning photojournalist came

Nov. 26, 2021

Yayoi Kusama proves star power with painting sold at 5.45 billion won

Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama broke another auction record in South Korea, with her painting “Pumpkin” fetching 5.45 billion won ($4.58 million), the greatest sum of all works sold on the block in Korea this year. It is also the highest price paid for a Kusama painting in Korea. The 1.2-meter-tall painting, created in 1981, went under the hammer at the auction house’s winter sale with a starting price of 5.2 billion won. The winning bid of 5.45 billion won breaks

Nov. 25, 2021

Lawmakers propose national art museums outside Seoul

A government plan to expand cultural facilities to regional areas is making headway, after the decision for the so-called “Lee Kun-hee donation hall” to be established in Seoul caused an uproar among regional cities and lawmakers. Several proposals to secure the budget to launch additional venues of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, across the country will be discussed this week by the National Assembly’s budget settlement committee, according to mult

Nov. 22, 2021

Lehmann Maupin Seoul will move to Seoul’s rising art mecca early next year

Lehmann Maupin Seoul will expand its presence in Korea’s art scene moving its location to Hannam-dong in central Seoul in early spring 2022, joining the ranks of international galleries settling down in the fast-rising art mecca. The gallery’s newly renovated building will feature larger exhibition spaces that will span across two floors and an outdoor terrace to accommodate installation works and sculptures. The American gallery launched its first local branch in Samcheong-dong,

Nov. 21, 2021

[Eye Plus] Reinterpretation of Deoksugung: Garden of Imagination

In the 15th century, it was the private residence of a grand prince. Then in the late 19th century, it became the imperial palace of the short-lived Korean Empire. During the Japanese colonial period that followed, it was reduced to a public park.  This is the story of Deoksugung, now South Korea’s historical site No. 124 and one of the most serene places tucked in central Seoul.  An artistic project is taking place here, under the title of “Deoksugung Project 2021: Garde

Nov. 20, 2021

Craft Trend Fair 2021 showcases beauty of Korean craftsmanship

Korean craftsmanship, both traditional and contemporary, is on full display at the Craft Trend Fair 2021 at Coex in southern Seoul. The main exhibition “Every Shape, Every Color,” the highlight of the fair, presents a variety of craftworks by 71 Korean and overseas artists. Jung Ku-ho, a well-known fashion designer and artistic director, organized the fair that features 320 artists, galleries and institutes. Jung was the artistic director for the “Monochrome Monologue&rdquo

Nov. 19, 2021

Auction houses introduce rare works to keep heated art market interested

Major Korean auction houses hope to continue the successful sales they have enjoyed this year in a market buoyed by the popularity of art as an outlet for investment. Two auctions will put up works worth more than 10 billion won ($8.5 million) at the upcoming events, featuring rare pieces. Seoul Auction will put “Pumpkin” by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama on the bidding block Tuesday. The work from 1981 is a rare early work, according to the auction house. The starting price is set a

Nov. 17, 2021

[Herald Interview] Charles B. Wang Center Director Jin Jin-young tells stories of Korean art to global audiences

Jin Jin-young, director of cultural programs at the Charles B. Wang Center in New York, increasingly feels the rising popularity of Korean culture stemming from pop music, films and dramas. And that interest is spreading to Korean art amid the fast-growing Korean art market, she notes. While there is a wealth of information about Korean pop culture, she found there are few reliable sources for global audiences looking for more information about Korean culture, history and art, whether they be

Nov. 14, 2021

MMCA to finish cataloging Lee Kun-hee collection by 2022, transfer works to new hall

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, said Friday that it will hand over the bequest from the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee to the new hall that is scheduled to be built in 2027 in central Seoul. In the meantime, it is examining and cataloging the works. “We are undertaking thorough research on 1,488 artworks from the Lee Kun-hee collection, such as the names and materials of the works and year of creation. We will finish registering them next year and sha

Nov. 12, 2021

Korean art master Park Seo-bo draws line at NFTs

South Korean art master Park Seo-bo confirmed that he would not allow his works to be produced as NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, stressing that digital art belongs to a new generation. Park made his stance known on social media Thursday amid growing attention to the digital art trend, saying people had asked him whether he was interested in tokenizing his works. Park’s paintings are highly popular in the market, and some of his 1.3-meter-by-1.6-meter works have sold for more than 400 mil

Nov. 12, 2021

[Newsmaker] ‘Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall’ in Songhyeon-dong to house all bequeathed works

Nearly all of the artworks bequeathed by the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee will be housed together at the “Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall,” which is to open in Songhyeon-dong, Seoul, in 2027. The announcement was made during a ceremony Wednesday to seal the agreement between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Seoul Metropolitan Government on building the new institution in Songhyeong-dong after considering two candidate sites in Seoul. Confusion about the i

Nov. 10, 2021

[Exclusive] Kansong Art Museum may open temporarily next year

Kansong Art Museum is mulling opening the museum temporarily next year before the renovation of Bohwagak, the museum building, gets underway. The museum has been closed for seven years. The country’s first private museum, Bohwagak, as it was initially named, was founded in 1938 by Jeon Hyung-pil, a wealthy collector of Korean cultural artifacts during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule to prevent the national treasures from being removed from the country. The name of the museum was c

Nov. 9, 2021

Ho-Am Art Museum returns with traditional metal works, fall foliage

The Ho-Am Art Museum in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, has returned with the new exhibition “Metallurgy: Great Wisdom” and its formal garden, Hee Won, in its full autumnal glory. The museum run by the Samsung Foundation of Culture was founded in 1982 to house traditional Korean art collected by Lee Byung-chull, founder of Samsung Group. Named for Lee’s pseudonym, Hoam, the museum boasts a garden by Korea’s first-generation landscape architect Jung Young-sun inspired by tr

Nov. 8, 2021

[Herald Interview] Dominique Perrault calls on architects to be conductors

French architect Donique Perrault has been advocating for more important roles for architects over the past several years. As the general director of the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2021, he brought together 190 architects and artists from across the world under the theme of the “Crossroads, Building the Resilient City.” “In my opinion, many people consider architects less important today, while they demand engineers, landscape experts and environmentalists

Nov. 3, 2021

Painter-poet Choi Wook-kyung invites us to her art ‘wonderland’

Korean abstract artist Choi Wook-kyung pioneered an abstract art of her own from the 1960s to the 1980s when female artists did not receive much attention in Korea. Traveling back and forth between Korea and the US, Choi established her own painting style without being involved in any of the art movements of the times. Born in 1940, Choi studied painting at Seoul National University and went to the US in 1963 in pursuit of expanding her art world.  The exhibition “Wook-kyung Cho

Nov. 1, 2021

Biggest-ever Daegu Art Fair to kick off next week

Korean art collectors are turning their eyes to Daegu, a two-hour KTX trip from Seoul, for the upcoming Daegu Art Fair 2021 as local art fairs continue to ride the unexpected wave of popularity in the art market. Daegu Art Fair 2021, considered the third major art fair in the country along with KIAF Seoul and Art Busan, kicks off on Nov. 4 at Exco. Galleries Association of Daegu, who has hosted the fair since 2008, is jointly organizing this year’s edition with the Galleries Association

Oct. 30, 2021

Gwangju art fair explores metaverse exhibition for first time

The Gwangju International Art Fair 2021 opened Thursday featuring artists based in the city, including a metaverse exhibition, to help them promote artworks virtually and in person amid growing public interest in art. With 70 galleries from home and abroad taking part, the city’s major art fair will run until Sunday at the Kimdaejung Convention Center, showcasing works from 535 artists. With growing attention to the art market, the annual art fair is presenting special booths to intro

Oct. 30, 2021

Media art-centric Ulsan Museum of Art to open in January

Ulsan Museum of Art will open early next year as the first major art museum in the eighth-largest city in South Korea. The museum will specialize in digital media art, encompassing the fast-evolving digital art genre. The museum, which is now in the final stage of construction, will open on Jan. 6 with five inaugural exhibitions. They include an exhibition of the museum’s permanent collection and the thematic exhibition “Post Nature.” Seventy artists from 14 countries will b

Oct. 27, 2021

Gallery Hyundai’s Patrick Lee to step down, take on new role at Frieze Seoul

Patrick Lee, executive director of Gallery Hyundai in Seoul, will step down from his post and direct the art fair Frieze Seoul starting in November, according to the gallery. Frieze Seoul will be held in early September 2022 at Coex in southern Seoul, alongside KIAF Seoul, South Korea’s largest international art fair. As director of Frieze Seoul, Lee will take charge of organizing the event. Seoul is the first Asian city to host a Frieze art fair. Lee, who previously led One and J. Ga

Oct. 27, 2021