Novelty factor wears out, while organizers now openly announce event is reserved for the privilegedThe idea of room-hopping in the city’s most luxurious hotels to browse artwork adorning the walls was very fresh in 2009 when the first-ever hotel art fair in the city was opened at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Hannam-dong, central Seoul. But with so many hotel art fairs popping up every season since then in different hotels throughout Seoul, viewing artwork in well appointed hotel rooms has become a s

Herald artday, a subsidiary of the Herald Media group, will open its second online auction this month. It will roll out about 100 artworks by acclaimed South Korean artists, including Lee U-fan, Kim Tschang-yeul, Suh Seok and Lee Dai-won. The biggest advantage of the auction is the affordable price. Starting prices will be as much as 70 percent below the market price. Organizers said that it would be a safe opportunity for first-time buyers as well as art aficionados to take home genuine artwork

Captured on camera by photographers’ deft techniques, historical sites, interior designs and impressive architecture have more stories to tell. Six photographers ― Brian McKee, Lina Kim, Michael Wesely, Laurie Simmons, Dionisio Gonzlez, and Hiroshi Sugimoto ― are showcasing their unique perspectives on architectural themes at the exhibition “Beyond Architecture: Progress in Time” which is currently running at The Columns Gallery in Itaewon-dong, central Seoul. U.S. photographer Brian McKee, for

Exquisite pieces of Korean court hanbok and royal wedding rituals charmed Parisians on Tuesday night, during a special event held as a part of Korea-France Week 2011 in France.Organized by the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, the event, which consisted of a hanbok fashion show, a Korean gugak concert, and a re-enactment of the Joseon-era royal wedding ceremony, was presented in front of some 200 invited guests at the InterContinental Hotel Paris. French author Bernard Werber, whose books

He may be from a country not everyone has heard of, but his paintings contain emotions everyone should be able to connect with.The faces in Eritrean artist Fitsum’s 20 oil paintings at “African Soul” in Gallery Tongkeun in Gwanhun-dong, central Seoul, portray universal feelings such as suffering and agony, depicted with bold strokes of vivid color.Eritrea is a small African country of less than 6 million people, situated next to Sudan to the west, Ethiopia to the south and Djibouti to the southe

PITTSBURGH (AP) ― Charles “Teenie’’ Harris had a photographic mission: going beyond the obvious or sensational to capture the essence of daily African-American life in the 20th centuryFor more than 40 years, Harris ― as lead photographer of the influential Pittsburgh Courier newspaper ― took almost 80,000 pictures of people from all walks of life: presidents, housewives, sports stars, babies, civil rights leaders and even cross-dressing drag queens.Now, a new exhibit and online catalog is showin

Two German photographers showcase photos of life-size paper creations and renovated art museumGerman photographer Thomas Demand takes photos of places he has never been to, or things that no longer exist. The control room at Fukushima nuclear power plant and a parcel bomb sent to the U.S. from Yemen are clearly visible in his photos. But the photographer has never seen either with his own eyes. How is that possible? The secret reveals itself upon closer inspection: The photographer created life

MOSCOW ― David Hallberg is off and running in Moscow. On Friday night he made history for the Bolshoi Ballet as the first American in a leading role on its historic stage in a new production of the fabled Russian ballet “The Sleeping Beauty.”And it’s not just any stage: Older than the United States and the jewel of Russian culture, the Bolshoi Theatre is newly restored for its 236th season.Hallberg, the American Ballet Theatre principal who is now also a premier dancer with the Bolshoi, and Russ

Korean environmental artist Hwang to reproduce wildlife of DMZ in BritainThe Demilitarized Zone separating the South and North Korea may be the most scarred, but at the same time, the one of the most untouched places in the world.Hwang Ji-hae, the winner of the Artisan Garden section at the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show, this time wanted to show the place and tell “our story” badly because she knew the stage will be spotlighted by the media from all over the world and be visited by VIPs like the Quee

National museum marks millennial anniversary of ancient Buddhist printing blocksFor those who have yet to see the wooden printing blocks of the Tripitaka Koreana, the world’s most comprehensive and oldest intact Buddhist canon, the time is now or never.The National Palace Museum of Korea is holding a special exhibition celebrating the millennial anniversary of the ancient Korean relic, showcasing the Haein Temple’s wooden printing blocks of the Buddhist scripture to the public for the last time.

Japanese director’s visually rich production does not need much explanationFrom “Romeo and Juliet” to “Hamlet,” any Shakespearean play turns into a beautiful, visually stimulating production with much exotic touch once touched by the magic of this Japanese man. Yukio Ninagawa, Japanese theater director best known for his Japanese adaptations of Shakespeare plays and Greek tragedies, is presenting his show for the first time in Korea this month. What he brings to Seoul, after seven years of negot