Art Sonje Center -- a private art museum in Seoul recognized for experimental contemporary art exhibitions -- is showcasing three solo exhibitions by different artists. Bringing different displays to the museum, the three artists -- Camille Henrot, Lee Mi-re and Don Sun-pil -- guide visitors through diverse aspects of contemporary art. At the exhibition “Saturday, Tuesday,” French artist Henrot brings light to social issues in connection with the seven days of the week. “Tue

Korean modern art master Kim Whan-ki is widely known at home and abroad for his signature dot paintings. But it is little known that the artist was actually a poet as well, having penned a number of poems as “Suhwa,” and that he sought poetic features in his paintings. “What I have felt since arriving here is a poetic spirit. Art, I think, should contain songs,” Kim wrote in his journal in January 1957 while staying in Paris. “There are powerful songs in the wor

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea is showcasing the largest-ever exhibition for kids at its Gwacheon venue after reopening on Wednesday. The exhibition, “Driving into the Color,” is held at the circular gallery -- a 2,645 square-meter exhibition hall – and is dedicated exclusively to children. The exhibition consists of “The Exhibition Zone,” “Activity Zone,” and “Learning Zone.” At the exhibition zone, a total

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will unveil its new exhibition “Project Hashtag 2020” at its Seoul venue, starting Friday. This is MMCA Seoul’s first exhibition after it reopens three venues -- Seoul, Deoksugung and Gwacheon -- in the Seoul metropolitan area on Wednesday as the COVID-19 pandemic shows signs of easing. The project, sponsored by Hyundai Motor, aims to promote young artist groups that collaborate across different fields of art. Amo

In the late 1970s, a group of young South Korean artists rebelled against the abstract art that was enjoying widespread popularity across the country. They believed the art world was overly focused on aesthetics at the expense of social issues. At the time, Korea was undergoing rapid industrialization and was ruled by an authoritarian military regime with no regard for human rights. In 1979, around 20 like-minded artists who believed that art should reflect the reality of people’s live

South Korea‘s largest-ever exhibition of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat -- the American contemporary artist known for his rebellious style -– will open in October at the Lotte Museum of Art in Songpa district, southeastern Seoul. Titled “Royalty, Heroism and the Streets,” the exhibition will showcase 150 paintings, sculptures and drawings made by Basquiat and run from Oct. 8 to Feb 7, 2021. Basquiat was the first African American artist to establish a reputation in the

Artworks by Lee Ung-no (1904-1989) – a modern artist who created his unique style by successfully integrating Korean painting traditions with Western art -- are now available on the online platform of Google Arts & Culture for international audiences. Lee Ungno Museum collaborated with Google Arts & Culture to showcase the artist and his artworks. Lee is the first Korean artist extensively introduced by the Google’s online art platform in collaboration with a local museum

Gana Art, a major commercial art gallery in Korea, is hosting a solo exhibition of Japanese installation artist Chiharu Shiota -- widely known for giant installation works with entangled threads -- at its two branches, the Gana Art Center and Gana Art Nineone in Seoul. The artist, who is based in Berlin, expresses her emotions about relationship with others by weaving wool yarns. Her large-scale web which is woven with red wool yarns fills the 150-square-meter exhibition hall at Gana Art in J

A painting album by Jeong Seon (1676-1759), an artist hailed as a Joseon-era master of landscape painting, failed to find a new owner Wednesday at an auction held by K Auction in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul. The bidding started at 5 billion won ($4.2 million), which itself would have been the highest price for an antique painting.  Designated as Treasure No. 1,796, the painting album of Haeak Palgyeong and Songyu Palhyeondo comprises 16 paintings by Jeong Seon -- eight of Kumgangsan in tod

Actor Gang Dong-won was not a big fan of zombie flicks until he starred in “Peninsula,” a zombie thriller that hit the theaters Wednesday. While filming the movie, he found himself physically challenged and his thoughts on zombie flicks have changed -- they are actually action movies disguised as horror movies, he said. “Before I filmed ‘Peninsula,’ I was not really interested in zombie movies because I always thought that Asian ghosts that hold grudges were much

The National Theater of Korea announced Tuesday it would continue its annual Yeowoorak Festival online as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The state-run theater will live stream a total of six performances of the 2020 Yeowoorak Festival via Naver TV and YouTube without live audiences. The festival which kicks off Thursday will run until July 25. The six performances -- “Master&Master,” “I and My Fellow Traveler,” “Such is Life,” “Four Individual

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea announced Monday it has selected installation work “The Surface,” designed by stpmj, an architectural practice based in both Seoul and New York, for its MMCA Gwacheon Project 2020. “I hope MMCA’s Gwacheon venue could function as an outdoor shelter for visitors, providing fun and rest during the pandemic times with the installation work,” MMCA Director Youn Bummo said. The Gwacheon venue is located just so

King Sejong Institute Foundation is offering 15 online courses on Korean culture for foreigners as untact (contactless) learning is gaining ground amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The institute will offer online courses on five themes for the first session starting Monday -- culinary, handicrafts, paintings, dwellings and traditional wedding -- in Korean, English, Chinese, Russian and Vietnamese via its website -- www.iksi.or.kr The second session of the online classes will kick off in October w

Spanish painter Eva Armisen, known as an “artist drawing happiness” in Korea, is showcasing her work in Seoul to offer comfort amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibition “Eva Armisen Vida” at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Gwanghwamun in central Seoul displays around 150 oil paintings, drawings, installations and media art by Armisen. The exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and S

Gallery Hyundai, an art gallery with a 50-year history, is set to embark on the next phase of its legacy, presenting Korean art to the international art scene. Founded as Hyundai Hwarang in 1970 by Park Myung-ja, the gallery was an art base for Korea’s representative modern artists. It was a place where artists and art-related figures gathered to talk and meet when there was no such place to do so here. Gallery Hyundai touts itself as a pioneer and catalyst for the arts community, paving

Horim Museum is holding an exhibition introducing paintings on books and letters as the first installment of its three-part series on folk paintings from the Joseon era (1392-1910). The exhibition “The Scenery of Bookshelves Chaekgeori and Munjado” held at the Sinsa branch of Horim Museum, located in Gangnam, southern Seoul, showcases nearly 40 paintings of “chaekgeori” and “munjado” from the Joseon era as the first engagement of its “minhwa” ex

The following is part of a series that explores museums dedicated to Korea’s well-known contemporary artists that bear their name. --Ed. A white porcelain moon jar, which resembles a full moon with its bluish hue, sits alone at the entrance hall at the Gizi Art Base in western Seoul, a place dedicated to contemporary art master Park Seo-bo. “I do love the Korean moon jars. The jars are created through a repetitive movement on a pottery wheel, and the clay is the only ingredient. T

Kim Deok-han applies lacquer to his art. It is not just a simple craft, but spiritual work to look into himself. After repeatedly applying lacquer layers mixed with colored powder on an object such as a wood panel or aluminum that he has covered with linen, he rubs the surface with sandpaper. He explains the rubbing process is a spiritual action to look into himself. This artwork also reflects his belief that the current self is from the accumulated times of his past. “The whole proc

Sometimes a crisis turns into an opportunity. When COVID-19 began to spread across the country, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) quickly moved online in March, grabbing global attention for its digital content. More than 3,000 people viewed the museum‘s first live-streamed exhibition, its first calligraphy-only exhibition in its 51-year history, on the museum’s YouTube channel. “The Modern and Contemporary Korean Writing,” a 80-minute cur

The following is part of a series that explores museums dedicated to the well-known Korean contemporary artists that bear their name. --Ed. Driving through a winding road in Yanggu County in Gangwon Province, the Park Soo Keun Museum slowly comes into sight. Surrounded by granite, the museum lies low to the ground as if representing the humble personality of Korea’s representative modern artist Park Soo-keun. The granite pieces that surround the museum are familiar objects here as the