Online fuss continues after a billboard intended to win the affections of Blackpink’s Jennie was erected near the artist’s agency, YG Entertainment, in Seoul. The ad was put up by Filipino businessman Christian Albert Gaza, who proclaims himself as Jennie’s No. 1 fan. Gaza had the two-panel ad -- with one side in English and the other in Korean -- installed atop a five-story building a few kilometers from the agency in Yongsan, Seoul. The billboard ad reads: “Kim Jennie

It was around three years ago in Japan that Moon Dong-sun stumbled upon natural wine. He was blown away by the unique taste and colors. Upon returning to Korea, he drew up a plan to open a natural wine bar, introducing the new experience of wine to Seoulites. Early this year, Moon opened a natural wine bar in the trendy Hannam-dong in Seoul. Moon said that natural wine has rapidly become popular, and specialized bars have been emerging across the city. “The natural wine market is gr

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

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

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

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

Halloween is just around the corner. For anyone looking for a fun way to celebrate Halloween, a spooky art fair in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, offers art with a Halloween vibe. The fair welcomes visitors in Halloween costumes. The Halloween Art Market in Sinjang-dong, Pyeongtaek, a neighborhood near the Osan Air Base, has kicked off in three cultural spaces -- Hanchigak, Another Space 3 and Duchigak, near the Songtan Shopping Center. Some of the exhibition spaces will be turned into haunt

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

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

Renaissance art flourished in 14th-century Florence on the back of powerful patrons, and art patronage by businesses continues to play a pivotal role in Italian art. The exhibition “We Love Art. Vision and Creativity Made in Italy” organized by the Italian Institute of Culture and the Embassy of Italy in Seoul on Wednesday, aims to show how businesses’ art patronage functions today. The exhibition of eight works by emerging Italian artists supported by the country’s cor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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