In recent years, the terms “nationalism,” “refugee crisis” and “racism” have appeared often in media around the world, reflecting the growing indifference to others. It may be argued that this tendency has only grown stronger as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to keep a distance from each other. The question of “How to live together at this time” is presented at three different exhibitions at Art Sonje Center in central Seoul through the wor

GWANGJU - A dingy building that once served as the Armed Forces’ Gwangju Hospital had remained closed for years. It had treated the people of Gwangju wounded during the May 18 Democratization Movement in the city, but at the same time was also covertly used to conduct investigations and torture those involved in the movement.  After the Army hospital moved to a different location in Gwangju as the city began to develop, the building was left vacant for more than 10 years, gradually

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2021 -- which is scheduled to be held in September next year in Seoul -- will discuss how the city of Seoul can be more resilient, accommodating a population of some 10 million people. “Today, ‘resiliency’ is not a pointless word. The current situation forces us to build resilient cities,” said Dominique Perrault, the general director of the biennale, at a “pre-biennale” event Thursday. Its purpose was to declare t

The 2021 spring-summer Seoul Fashion Week ended Sunday, attracting some 670,000 views of the runway videos. Korea’s largest fashion show kicked off on Oct. 20, live-streaming the runway show of Miss Gee Collection, womenswear brand headed by the veteran designer Gee Choon-hee who was named the honorary designer of the year. Miss Gee Collection has participated in Seoul Fashion Week for the past 20 years. The live digital runway was viewed by more than 20,000 people online, according to

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art unveiled its inaugural MMCA Cheongju Project 2020 at its Cheongju venue, titled “Kwon Minho: Clouded Breath.” The artist combines architectural drawings with media technology to convey the narrative of South Korea’s industrialization. Kwon Min-ho, who “tells” the story of Korea’s economic history through imaginative large-scale drawings that resemble an architect’s blueprints, was the first artist to

The income gap among artists in the entertainment industry in Korea has widened over the past several years with the disparity among singers the most stark, surpassing that among actors and models, government figures showed. The total annual income of 63 singers in Korea – the top 1 percent of singers in Korea in terms of earnings -- recorded 217 billion won ($192.2 million) in 2018, accounting for 53 percent of the total income of singers, according to the document submitted by the Nati

The paintings of water drops by Kim Tschang-yeul are familiar both home and abroad, but how the artist began to associate water drops with text is not so widely known. Gallery Hyundai, a major commercial art gallery in Korea that has a special relationship with the 90-year-old artist, sheds light on that history through an exhibition dedicated to the artist. “The Path” is an exhibition that shows how Kim highlights his personality through the painting series that combines text a

Layers of vigorous brushstrokes are painted on a canvas. It may look like an abstract painting at a glance, but if you examine it carefully you will find objects hidden among the rapid brushstrokes. Jang Jae-min uses all his senses to remember the places he visits -- smell, hearing, sight -- then recalls the memories while he is painting. His works are done intuitively, and the artist’s intuitive nature comes through on the canvas. The semi-abstract paintings will animate the audience&rs

You may feel poignant loneliness in the paintings. The man who walks with a cane facing strong wind or a typhoon may look so lonely that it brings tears to your eyes. But at the same time, you will feel solace. What made his life so arduous? The question will linger in your mind as you view the works of Korean modern artist Byun Shi-ji at the Gana Art Center exhibition that features 40 paintings from his final years on Jeju Island, where he died in 2013. Born in 1926 on Jeju Island, the ar

The COVID-19 pandemic has made international travel virtually impossible, but there are ways yet to explore foreign lands and take in the view. Gabriele Basilico, a renowned Italian photographer whose works feature the country’s cities and architecture, provides an intimate look at how cities in Italy have changed in the contemporary era by training his eyes on their architecture and their streets. “Gabriele Basilico, Photographs of Italy,” the artist’s first solo exh

South Korea’s avant-garde artists who introduced performance art to the country in the 1960s will be presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2022 as the first major international exhibition of Korean avant-garde art. The exhibition titled “The Avant-Garde: Experimental Art in South Korea, in 1960s-1970s” at Guggenheim Museum will be co-organized with the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul. The exhibition will be held in tandem at the tw

The sudden outbreak of the pandemic frustrated the fashion industry earlier this year when the 2020 fall-winter Seoul Fashion Week was canceled just a month before it was scheduled to take place. After gearing up for the 2021 spring-summer season for months, Korea’s largest fashion event is going digital, breaking the barrier between designers and audiences. “It will be our first show to attempt to show B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business to customer) retail models at the

Masterpieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat -- the American artist whose rebellious style influenced art ranging from graffiti to pop art -- are being shown in South Korea’s largest-ever exhibition of his work. The title of the exhibition, “Jean Michel Basquiat: Royalty, Heroism, and the Streets,” at the Lotte Museum of Art reflects what the artist valued in his art. Basquiat chose the three subject matters -- royalty, heroism and streets-- that he cared about in his art in a 1983 i

In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth, a cultural event that creatively combines a classical concert and media art exhibition will take place Tuesday at F1963, a culture complex in Busan. “Artist Letter,” a concert and exhibition dedicated to Beethoven, aims to encourage people who are depressed by the prolonging pandemic by delivering the message of how the great musician overcame the difficulties he faced as he lost his hearing. Six str

Asia Hotel Art Fair Seoul 2020 kicked off Thursday afternoon at Nine Tree Premier Hotel Insadong in central Seoul, showcasing nearly 4,000 works from 60 galleries from home and abroad, offering art lovers the chance to collect works amid a series of art fair cancellations. The biannual art fair aims to promote interaction among galleries across Asia as well as introduce promising artists. A variety of work, from paintings to sculptures, is on display inside the 71 hotel rooms on the 10th, 12th

As soon as you step into the main exhibition hall of the PKM Gallery, canvases that are seemingly blank from a distance come into your sight. In a few minutes, the lights are suddenly turned off, and you may feel as though you are in a vast universe, the canvases gleaming with luminous green stars. The internationally renowned artist Koo Jeong-A’s painting series “Seven Stars” offers an extraordinary experience to visitors. The exhibition “Koo Jeong A: 2O2O” at P

Geunjeongjeon -- the main throne hall of Gyeongbokgung from the Joseon era (1392-1910) -- is worth around 3.29 billion won ($2.87 million), less than the average price of an apartment in Gangnam-gu, a district of Seoul known for its sky-high real estate prices. Three other halls in the palace, which are designated as national treasures, were valuated at less than 2 billion won each, according to a document submitted by the Cultural Heritage Administration at the request of Rep. Kim Seung-su o

After spending hours in meetings in the morning for her newly opened exhibition, Yang Hae-gue, a Korea-born installation artist who is one of the most in-demand artists across the globe today -- sat down with The Korea Herald on Monday, skipping lunch due to her tight schedule. “Please do not worry about me,” Yang said in a voice that sounded as if she could continue hours for the sake of her art. The artist, 49, is holding her fifth solo exhibition in Korea at the National Museum

When you think of Seoul 100 years ago, what comes to mind? The exhibition “The Gold Rush: 1920 Memory Theater” at Ilmin Museum of Art will take you back in time through newspapers and magazines of the era, along with masterpieces painted by modern and contemporary artists. The exhibition at Ilmin Museum of Art in central Seoul, which opened Oct. 8 and runs through Dec. 27, offers a break from the COVID-19 pandemic times. In the 1920s, during the Japanese colonial era, the city was

Park Re-hyun pioneered Korean modern art during the Japanese colonial era (1910-1945) and the years when Western culture flooded into Korea after its liberation from Japanese rule. While Park began her art studies in Japan and her paintings that feature Japanese aesthetics were once highly acclaimed, the artist sought to erase that legacy and went on to develop her own style, contemplating the fundamental aesthetics of Korea. Deeply fascinated by cubism, the style pioneered by Pablo Picasso, s