Vincent van Gogh's exhibition in Seoul explores his decade-long career

Vincent van Gogh’s masterpieces have arrived in Seoul, offering a journey through the artist’s 10-year career. The exhibition “The Great Passion: Van Gogh” at Seoul Arts Center’s Hangaram Art Museum marks the Dutch Postimpressionist’s largest exhibition in the city by number of works. The exhibition showcases 76 oil paintings and drawings from the Kroller-Muller Museum in Otterlo, Netherlands, which holds the second-largest collection of Van Gogh’s works

Dec. 20, 2024

[Photo News] Wall paintings restored

Replicas of two wall paintings high up on opposite sides of Gyotaejeon, the Queen’s residence, at Gyeongbokgung, will be shown to the public at the main Joseon-era (1392-1910) palace in Seoul through Dec. 30, ahead of the 30th anniversary of the hall’s restoration next year. According to the Korea Heritage Service, Italian fashion house Gucci funded the entire 270 million won ($190,000) project, which involved recreating the paintings. The images of a monkey family and a pair of trop

Dec. 18, 2024

Kim Sung-hwan's first solo exhibition at SeMA navigates cultural, historical contexts of people in Hawaii

Artist Kim Sung-hwan is a research-oriented artist based in Hawaii who digs into history, migration and boundaries. His first solo exhibition at a public museum in Korea, the Seoul Museum of Art, offers an opportunity to consider a specific site through layers of time. The exhibition "Ua a‘o ‘ia ‘o ia e ia" at the Seoul Museum of Art unfolds across three rooms, starting with migration narratives that unpack modern and colonial histories. Figures of different sizes sta

Dec. 18, 2024

[Herald Gallery] Wow

An invitational exhibition by Bae WooMi is currently being held at Gallery BODA in Insa-dong. The artist, known for a "kidult" sensibility, evokes empathy through a character named Gloria. Meaning "smile on Earth," Gloria embodies the intersection of analog and digital aesthetics. The character is brought to life using pop-inspired colors, segmented shapes, and elements from traditional Korean playing cards (hwatu). The journey of rediscovering one's pure self alongside

Dec. 18, 2024

From bags to shoes, expressing identity through decorating personal items

Personalizing everyday items with accessories has emerged as a major fashion trend. Whether it’s decorating backpacks and purses with doll keyrings and chains or adding charms to shoes, customizing items has become a new way for people to express themselves. The trend has even led to the coining of a new term, “decodentity,” a combination of the words “decoration” and “identity.” The trend began with teenagers and young adults in their 20s, who populariz

Dec. 17, 2024

[Herald Gallery] Shower Thought in Purple

The solo exhibition "Lucid Dreams" by artist JinHan Lee (born 1982) is on display at Gallery Hyundai in Jongno-gu, Seoul, until Dec. 22. This exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of the artist's work over the past 15 years, reflecting both his time living in the UK and his return to Korea. Featuring paintings that navigate the realms of abstraction and figuration, the exhibition captures the artist's intimate experiences and universal emotions. Motifs such as feet, the

Dec. 16, 2024

Whanki Museum reopens after 10-month renovation

The Whanki Museum in Seoul has reopened its doors with the exhibition “Kim Whanki_The Immortal Nature,” following an extensive renovation of the 33-year-old building and gallery spaces. The museum had closed in February. Located on a hill in Buam-dong, Jongno-gu, the museum is dedicated to Korea’s pioneering abstract artist known for his unique dotted paintings. Born in 1913, Kim died of a stroke in 1974 at the age of 60. Kim’s painting “05-IV-71 #200 (Universe),&rd

Dec. 16, 2024

National Folk Museum marks year of snake in exhibition

The National Folk Museum of Korea will open a special exhibition on Wednesday celebrating the Year of the Snake, one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. The exhibition “The Snake with a Thousand Faces,” running through March 3, will showcase some 60 items related to the animal from Africa to North America, exploring the conflicting human nature that views snakes as both scary and sacred, according to the state-run museum. “The Wise Snake” is one of the three zones set up, l

Dec. 16, 2024

Share New Year's wishes, help children at MMCA's wishing tree

If you have New Year's wishes or resolutions to share with others and want to help underprivileged communities, you may want to visit the wishing trees at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Seoul. The state-run museum collects donations to be used to provide art therapy to children. In the lobby, you can choose a paper flame in one of four colors, write a note on it expressing your hopes, and hang it on a wishing tree. A donation box is set up nearby to collect con

Dec. 12, 2024

[Herald Gallery] Serenity 24-002-007

Gallery Joeun in Yongsan-gu is hosting a solo exhibition by Seong YeonHwa (born 1986) through Jan. 4, 2025. This marks the artist’s 9th solo exhibition, featuring 25 new works centered on the theme of “identity.” The pieces reinterpret traditional Korean hanji paper and calligraphy into a unique sculptural language, capturing the harmony of lines and surfaces that connect the past and present, as well as the energy of spontaneous brushstrokes. Seong’s artistic world

Dec. 11, 2024

Evolution of Korean and Chinese ink paintings on display at MMCA

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has brought together masterpieces of modern and contemporary ink art from South Korea and China at its Deoksugung venue in Seoul. The exhibition “The Modern and Contemporary Ink Art of the Republic of Korea and the People’s Republic of China” was jointly curated with the National Art Museum of China. The two museums agreed to co-host the exhibition in 2022 in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations

Dec. 11, 2024

Porcelain on show exhibits power of characters

An exhibition exploring the meaning of letters on everyday objects from ancient to modern times is running at an open storage facility of the National Folk Museum of Korea in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, through March 3. The exhibition “A Journey Around the Characters” features some 290 household objects, mainly porcelain and earthenware. The collection ranges mostly from the Joseon era (1392-1910) to Korea’s 1945 independence from Japan. The latest showing by the state-run museum

Dec. 11, 2024

[Herald Interview] Jeju Biennale is at crossroad: artistic director Lee Jong-hoo

Jeju Biennale marked its fourth edition in November with the theme of “drift,” inviting some 87 artists from 14 countries to participate. The regional biennale is a latecomer in South Korea's biennale scene, following far behind the Gwangju Biennale and the Busan Biennale. Since its inauguration in 2017, it has continuously suffered from internal conflicts over whether it should continue. Jeju Province's budget for this year's biennale was around 1.2 billion won, a cut

Dec. 10, 2024

Jeju Biennale shows stories of 'drift' from across the world

Jeju Island -- Rows of plastic waste found in the ocean hang from the ceiling of the Jeju Museum of Art as though they are chandeliers. Korean artist Kim Soon-im collected the plastic pieces while walking on Jeju beaches to make up the installation titled "Sea_Scape_Jeju." The fourth edition of Jeju Biennale “The Drift of Apagi: The Way of Water, Wind and Stars” kicked off Nov. 26, under the theme of the “drift” to explore the diverse aspects of South Korea'

Dec. 10, 2024

[Herald Gallery] Information

At the Kukje Gallery in Jongno-gu, Seoul, a solo exhibition of Bill Viola (1951–2024), titled “Moving Stillness,” is being held until Jan. 26. This exhibition highlights the artistic world of Bill Viola, a pioneer of video art, showcasing seven of his video installations and works. Notably, the piece “Moving Stillness: Mount Rainier,” displayed in Exhibition Hall K3, explores themes of change, balance and the passage of time. Through the shimmering movement of water

Dec. 9, 2024

Shantytown painter Joung Young-ju's solo London show held at Almine Rech

Korean artist Joung Young-ju, known for paintings of fast-disappearing old shantytowns in Korea, is having her first solo exhibition in London at Almine Rech through Dec. 20. The exhibition “Way Back Home” includes some of her new works such as “Spring Series” and “Autumn in Village 1031” which feature the artist’s experimentations with color and natural elements. “While inherently Korean in subject and material, Joung’s work speaks to transn

Dec. 9, 2024

Buyeo National Museum shows key Baekje, Silla bodhisattvas

The exhibition “The Golden Smile of Compassion: The Meeting of Two Bodhisattvas” is running at the Buyeo National Museum through Jan. 9, exploring two ancient bodhisattvas. In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a being committed to helping others reach spiritual enlightenment. On display are the Avalokitesvara from Baekje Kingdom (18 BC-AD 660) and the Avalokitesvara from the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-AD 935). The two gilt-bronze statues are believed to have been made in the seventh century, the

Dec. 9, 2024

Incense burner exhibition opens at Daegu National Museum

An exhibition of incense burners from ancient to modern times is running at the Daegu National Museum through March 3. The exhibition “Incense Culture: From Desire to Taste” shows 372 Korean incense-related pieces from the Three Kingdoms period to the Joseon era -- spanning 57 BC to 1910 -- with three National Treasures and 10 Treasures on display. “The exhibition looks at a variety of incense used for different purposes,” a museum official said, citing everyday use and s

Dec. 8, 2024

[What to see] From conceptual to video art -- must-see exhibitions in December

If you are looking for exhibitions to visit this winter to spend time indoors in the cold weather, here is a roundup of shows that are worth your visit in Samcheong-dong, Hannam-dong and Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul. On view are two exhibitions of video art pioneer Bill Viola and Korean popular painter Park Jina at Kukje Gallery, Chun Kwang-young's hanji installation at Gana Art Center and Lawrence Weiner's conceptual art at Pace Gallery. Bill Viola, Park Jina at Kukje Gallery Kukje Galler

Dec. 7, 2024

French architect, designer Jean Prouve's modernism on view at Seoul Auction

Seoul Auction, a major auction house in South Korea, has opened an exhibition highlighting modernist design led by prominent 20th-century architects and designers, with a particular focus on the works of French architect and designer Jean Prouve. Prouve is celebrated as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, renowned for developing cutting-edge technology and modular systems for mass production during the postwar modernist era. His exhibition, titled “Jean Prouve 6x6,&rdq

Dec. 6, 2024