The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will undergo a special audit this year after the state-run museum was grilled at the parliamentary inspection Wednesday over recent issues surrounding the museum. The lawmakers questioned the museum’s director Youn Bum-mo Wednesday about the museum's inadequate management of artworks in its collection, employee bullying issues, and its relationship with the current government. Youn was reappointed as the director in Februar

Rirkrit Tiravanija is widely known for his intimate and participatory art, through which he engages with the audience. He would cook and serve up Thai food at an exhibition as part of the show, expanding the way in which people appreciate art. A Thai born in Argentina and based in New York since the late 1980s, Tiravanija's Seoul debut exhibition at Gladstone Gallery, titled “Rirkrit Tiravanija: Submit To The Black Compost,” ended Oct. 7. "For me, it has a deep meaning like

Seoul Fashion Week last week brought together South Korea’s established and rookie designers for the first fully in-person shows in three years, filling Dongdaemun Design Plaza with energy and verve throughout five days of shows presenting the 2023 spring-summer collections. DDP, the long-time venue for the city’s fashion week, was bustling Tuesday to Saturday with Seoulites who came to see the shows or to show off their fashion flair. Some were trendy and some were outlandish, but

Area Park is a stubborn photographer who still uses a huge slide film camera - Linhof Master Technika Classic - in the era of digital photography. He pursues film photography even if it means he has to be very selective and cautious when deciding to press the shutter button. Each shot costs 200,000 won - 250,000 won, taking into consideration film purchase, developing and scanning. Sometimes, he has to visit the same place again to retake photos, spending thousands of dollars. “I learned

  If you are either a hanok lover or a dessert maniac, the hanok-themed Hyegyeonggung Bakery is the place to visit as a chill creeps into the air. From fascinating desserts to a large garden where you can go for a light stroll, Hyegyeonggung Bakery has it all to make for a quality weekend. Located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul, the three-story bakery offers unique pastries, muffins, cakes, croissants and more. Taste sweet apple jam and cream cheese in the

Iryuk blurs line with genderless looks, Kimzisu embodies defiant desires

Seoul Fashion Week kicked off Tuesday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, where 30 Korean designers are presenting 2023 spring-summer collections through Saturday. The country’s largest fashion show is making a full-scale return to in-person shows as most COVID-19-related social distancing rules have been lifted. Twenty-three established designers and seven rookie designers with less than seven years of business experience are participating in the biannual fashion week. The five-day fashion we

Geometric abstraction pioneer Lee led Korea's avant-garde scene

  You are invited to the “Belle Epoque,” or “beautiful age,” a period in France spanning the late 19th and early 20th century when the European county enjoyed cultural enrichment from prominent artists who came to Paris from around the world. The exhibition “MMCA Lee Kun-hee Collection: Monet to Picasso, and the Masters of the Belle Epoque” at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province brings together eight a

An exhibition that highlights contemporary Nigerian arts opened Thursday at the Summit Gallery in southern Seoul. The exhibition, entitled “Seeds of Friendship,” introduces 110 pieces of art including six sculptures by 22 contemporary Nigerian artists, under the slogan “planting the seeds of culture on friendship.” Works of celebrated artists such as Tony Enebeli, who has a distinctive style of using plastocast and metal foil, and emerging young artists such as Kehinde Mu

Songzio to show at Seoul Fashion Week, plans to launch women's brand in 2024

Contemporary Nigerian art will be explored at an exhibition opening Thursday at the Summit Gallery in southern Seoul. A total of 110 art pieces including 35 paintings and six sculptures by 22 Nigerian artists will be on display at the exhibition entitled “Seeds of Friendship.” The exhibition is being held under the slogan “planting the seeds of culture on friendship.” Among contemporary Nigerian artists represented at the exhibition is John Ogbeta, a mixed media painter,

Yang Hae-gue has immersed herself in holding and cutting “hanji,” or Korean traditional mulberry paper, for a new paper collage series. The artist began presenting her works last year, continuously evolving an artistic world of her own. Kukje Gallery has shown 18 works of her hanji collages in Seoul, the second exhibit of the artist’s latest series at the gallery. The paper collage series, named “Mesmerizing Mesh,” is based on her research on the Korean shamanistic

Architecture has the power to connect and bring two different things together, said architect Alfredo Brillembourg during his presentation at Herald Design Forum 2022 held at the Shilla Seoul, Tuesday. He gave a dual lecture with Ida Lien, a partner at Urban-A. The pair talked about how architecture can deal with conflicts and shape cultures, answering the underlying question: How can people live together today in harmony and in the city? “We are living in an increasingly urbanized and hyp

Architecture should remain vivid in people’s hearts like Beethoven or Mozart’s timeless music, said Tadao Ando at Herald Design Forum 2022 Tuesday, delivering the opening lecture under the theme “Life full of dreams and architecture.” “People say architecture should be rational, economical, pleasant and beautiful and all, but most importantly, I believe, architecture should remain firmly in people’s minds,” Ando said via video link at the forum's 12th ed