The Museum am Rothenbaum in Hamburg, Germany, will return a pair of Joseon era stone statues to South Korea, the Overseas Cultural Heritage Foundation announced Thursday.The two statues will be returned on March 19. Estimated to have been produced in the late 16th or early 17th century, the statues were initially believed to have been shipped to Germany after a German national acquired them from a local antique shop in Seoul in 1983. The museum purchased the pair in 1987. A pair of stone statues

In the contemporary art scene where everything -- installations and gallery spaces for instance -- tends to become bigger and bigger to achieve “spectacle” status, artist Don Sun-pil has brought miniature figurines of characters from cartoons, animations, games and other subculture productions into the gallery space. Don is holding a solo exhibition at Arario Museum’s underground gallery at Space, an iconic architectural gem from Kim Soo-geun in central Seoul.  Artist Don Sun-pil‘s “Next Back Do

Knowing and witnessing are two different things. The former deals with thoughts, whereas the latter involves confronting reality up close. “Kill Ahn Young-ho” is a drama that forces the audience to confront the realities facing teenage runaways. By showing us this story of three marginalized young people who have run away from home and the violence and difficulties that pushed them onto the streets, the work invites the audience to empathize. Once you meet these alienated teenagers -- though the

Painter Bek Hyun-jin is holding a solo exhibition at PKM Gallery, titled “Work Song: Soil, Mattress and Waves.” The exhibition, which kicked off Friday at the gallery in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, comprises 65 recent paintings by Bek.Born in 1972, Bek is a multitalented artist who held his first solo exhibition in 1996. As the Uhuboo Project’s vocalist, he is also one of the first generation of local indie musicians, having worked on film soundtracks for internationally acclaimed directors Park Chan

The latest exhibition at D Museum’s Hannam-dong branch, “I Draw” comes with 13 sections that have incorporated various design elements in line with the works of art displayed in each space.The 13 sections are designed by architect Kwon Kyung-min. Two local companies, COM and Craft Bros, have designed the interior details to match the mood that each section has. An installation view of “Mysterious Window” shows works by Pierre Le-Tan. (D Museum)An installation view of “The Drawing Room” shows wor

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has selected Park Chan-Kyong as its sixth artist for the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series, the museum announced Wednesday. A special exhibition of Park’s works will take place from Oct. 26 this year to Feb. 23 next year at the MMCA’s Seoul branch, introducing new video works that are two years in the making. Artist Park Chan-kyong (MMCA)Park is a media artist, film director and art critic who has focused on delving into Korea’s sociopolitical hi

Artist Hwang Kyu-baik’s solo exhibition featuring some 20 recent oil paintings opened Tuesday at the Gana Art Center in Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul. Born in 1932, Hwang has earned international recognition for his mezzotint technique. Combining the 17th century European engraving method with elements of traditional Korean culture, Hwang has developed his own lyrical surrealism.  “Moon and Swan” (2016) by artist Hwang Kyu-baik (Gana Art Center) “An Umbrella” (2018) by artist Hwang Kyu-baik (Gana Art

Asked “What Would You Do if These Crackers Were Real Pistols?” Indonesian artist FX Harsono replied, “I wanted to shoot my teacher. He was the director of my art school and kicked me out from the school. He was financially corrupted and also part of many scandals associated with women.”The question forms the title of the artist’s 1977 work on display at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Gwacheon branch as part of the exhibition “Awakenings: Art in Society in Asia 1960s-1990s.”

Many remember listening to a cassette tape on a deck or portable player like Sony’s Walkman. Pressing the rewind and stop buttons to find the right track and flipping the tape to listen to the reverse side were all part of the reel-to-reel tape ritual. Not to forget the messy moment of a tape getting chewed inside of a deck or the importance of having a pencil handy. The heyday of cassette tapes came to a close late in the 1990s, as they lost out to digital compact discs. A resurgence of the onc

Suspended in an exhibition hall at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Gwacheon branch is artist Tang Da Wu’s work consisting of seven white pieces of cloth tainted with rainwater and soil, made over 10 days of seeping in a gully.An installation view of Tang Da Wu's "Gully Curtains" (MMCA)The installation by the Singaporean artist, titled “Gully Curtains,” tells a narrative specific to Singapore’s Ang Mo Kio, an area redeveloped in the 1970s.“Awakenings: Art in Society in Asia 1

A total of some 50 works by sculptor Um Tai-jung are being exhibited at both branches of Arario Gallery in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, and Cheonan, North Chungcheong Province. Um is one of the nation’s first-generation modern sculptors, who worked exclusively with metals. Born in 1938, Um graduated from the Department of Sculpture in the College of Fine Arts at Seoul National University. Um also studied at Saint Martin’s School of Art in London -- possibly one of the first Korean artists who

Youn Bum-mo, curator and professor at Dongguk University, has been appointed the new director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Thursday. According to the announcement, Youn will start his three-year term on Feb. 1, filling the post that has been vacant since Dec. 13, when Bartomeu Mari was let go after his term as director. Curator Youn Bum-mo (Courtesy of the curator)The central government started its recruitme

Kukje Gallery on Tuesday began a solo exhibition of painter Min Joung-ki, a local artist who regained attention after South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un posed for pictures in front of his painting “Mount Bukhan” during their summit in April last year.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands in front of Min Joun-ki’s landscape painting “Mount Bukhan” in the Peach House at Panmunjom during the inter-Korean summit in Ap

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s leading carmaker, announced Friday that it would provide financial support for Tate’s new research center dedicated to promoting non-Western art.Starting in January, the Hyundai Motor-supported research platform will foster arts research and art acquisitions with a focus on regions other than the so-called Western countries. The program will run for six years. (Hyundai Motor)Lee Sook-kyung, former senior curator at Tate Research Centre: Asia, will head the program. F

Doosan Gallery is holding an exhibition curated by participants of its eighth Doosan Curator Workshop -- Yoo Eun-soon , Yu Ji-won and Lee Jin. The exhibition “YourSearch, On-demand Research Service” by the three curators introduces 23 works by Ghim Da-hwan Lee Dong-geun, Kim Woong-hyun, Lee Yoon-seo and Jung Eu-gene.An installation view of Doosan Gallery’s exhibition “YourSearch, On-demand Research Service” (Doosan Gallery)The exhibition touts itself as a research service platform designed to pr

Korean artists Kwon Ha-youn and Jin Si-yon have installed their media artworks at a pavilion outside the Times Square building in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.Under the title of “Lunar Fantasy with Ancient Auspicious Animals,” the two Korean artists have presented their own digital renderings of eight mythical creatures from the Chinese tradition of Feng Shui, which are believed to bring luck, prosperity and wealth.  A pavillion in front of Times Square building in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (Gana Art)“

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art on Wednesday announced its exhibition schedule for 2019. Park Wi-jin, managing director and acting director of the MMCA, announced the museum’s calendar for this year, as the director post remains vacant. Twenty-three exhibitions will be held between the network of four art museums, which now includes the recently opened Cheongju branch. Some 10 billion won ($8.9 million) of the total annual budget of 63.2 billion won, a 4 percent increase from

Artist Kim Joon has been selected as the winner of the 18th SongEun Art Award, SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation announced Friday.Kim has been focusing on introducing installations that present sounds and photographs he collected on-site. Through his site-specific soundscape project, Kim has been attempting to explore the history of locations and to make landscapes audible. The artist is best known for his work delving into the ecology of Nanji, a landfill-turned-park in Seoul. Kim gradua

Christie’s has defended itself in regards to claims that it sold a Korean gallery’s painting for less than it was worth as part of a sweetheart deal, saying it acted to settle a loan it had made reasonable efforts to settle. Korean gallery One and J filed on Jan. 2 for a preliminary injunction with the New York County Supreme Court over the former’s sale of a painting by Francis Bacon in a private deal at what the Korean gallery claimed was a “bargain price.”The two parties had remained silent s

French artist Xavier Veilhan is holding a solo exhibition at 313 Art Project’s newly opened branch in Seongbuk-dong, as well as the gallery’s Cheongdam space. Veilhan rose to international acclaim with his 2009 exhibition at Versailles, and participated in the French Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale.Xavier Veilhan speaks at a press conference held at 313 Art Project's newly opened gallery in Seongbuk-dong on Thursday. On the backdrop is one of his "Ghost Landscapes." (313 Art Project)In Kore