The Korea Herald

In bid to fight art fraud, Sotheby's acquires forensic lab

Dec 6, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- In bid to fight art fraud, Sotheby's announced Monday that it had purchased a forensics firm whose founder once helped the auction house belatedly identify a $10 million painting as a fake.Sotheby’s said that Orion Analytical, based in Williamstown, Massachusetts, will be folded into the company and its founder, the artist, conservator and forensic scientist James Martin, will lead a new scientific research department charged with making sure the works the auction house deals wi
MMCA to exhibit Warhol, Picasso in 2017 and beyond

Dec 6, 2016

South Korea's national museum of contemporary art will present a series of exhibitions featuring Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and other great artists starting next year, the museum’s director said Monday.Bartomeu Mari, director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, unveiled a list of exhibitions planned for next year and beyond under such themes as “Other Modernities,”“Convergence of Architecture, Design, Cinema,” and “Modern and Contemporary Masters.”“I think it is very important
Fish skin, snooker chalk win UK Turner Prize for Marten

Dec 6, 2016

LONDON (AFP) -- Sculptor Helen Marten on Monday won the Turner Prize, at a London ceremony where the art world rallied against xenophobia and intolerance.The prize is awarded to a British artist under 50 for an outstanding exhibition, and has become synonymous with controversy in its 32-year history with previous winners including contemporary art agents provocateurs Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.Marten, 31, impressed the judges with her sculptures from unusual materials such as fish skin and sno
[Herald Interview] Young opera soprano returns home to star as Juliet prior to Met Opera debut

Dec 4, 2016

Hyesang Park to star in opera rendition of Shakespeare’s beloved ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Guggenheim museum in Helsinki gets rejected

Dec 1, 2016

HELSINKI (AP) -- The Helsinki City Council has after heated late night debate rejected a plan to build a Guggenheim art museum in the Finnish capital mainly on financial grounds.Closing a marathon session of nearly six hours, the 85-member city council voted 53-32 early Thursday to bury the long-running project which had sparked passionate opinions -- both for and against -- among the residents of the city in the Nordic country.The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation proposed building the Helsinki
Director of Spain's Prado museum to leave post after 15 years

Dec 1, 2016

MADRID (AFP) -- Spain's Prado art museum said Wednesday its director Miguel Zugaza will leave his post in 2017 after a 15-year run that included the biggest expansion of the world-renowned gallery.Zugaza, 52, has decided to return to his previous job as director of Bilbao’s Fine Arts Museum, which he held between 1995 and 2001, the Prado said in a statement.The Madrid museum, the home of masterpieces by Francisco Goya and Diego Velazquez, said Zugaza had told the culture ministry that he had ach
Rome show explores painter Artemisia Gentileschi's art, life

Nov 30, 2016

ROME (AP) -- Artemisia Gentileschi was unusual for achieving success as a female painter in the male-dominated art world of the 17th century. But many admirers know her more for her fame in courageously testifying -- including under torture -- against a painter who repeatedly raped her when she was a teen. Now an exhibit in Rome of her oil paintings aims to make her artistic development and legacy better appreciated.Visitors to the show at the Museum of Rome in Palazzo Braschi are treated to som
Late artist Kim Whan-ki makes record-breaking sale, again

Nov 28, 2016

A pioneer of Korean abstract art, Kim Whan-ki, has once again broken the record for the most expensive piece of Korean art sold, confirming the artist’s lasting global appeal. His yellow dotted painting “12-V-70 #172” was sold for 6.32 billion won ($5.36 million) at Seoul Auction’s 20th Hong Kong Sale at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong on Sunday. The painting garnered significant attention from buyers even before the auction opened over the weekend. The bidding started at 4.5 billion won and eventuall
2 artworks in 1: Double-sided Pechstein on display

Nov 28, 2016

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- A new exhibit of Max Pechstein's “Still Life with Nude, Tile, and Fruit” takes viewers not only behind the scenes of the German artist’s career, but also behind the painting itself.While previous owners displayed the painting with only the still life and portrait showing, the Currier Museum of Art is showing its reverse side, which reveals a separate but related landscape. The museum has installed the double-sided painting on a pedestal in a specially constructed glass f
NY subway inspires Broadway's first a capella musical

Nov 28, 2016

NEW YORK (AFP) -- New York's cityscape reverberates with pounding jackhammers and blaring car horns, but it’s the cacophonous subway that perhaps best epitomizes the bustling metropolis.A chorus of voices sans instrumental accompaniment will soon bring the transit system's rhythms to Broadway, the first time the famous theater district will host an a cappella show.“In Transit” brings a rather unconventional touch to the Broadway stage: in a world known for its lively orchestras and consistent vi
Kim Whan-ki's painting breaks S. Korean sale record at 6.32 bln won

Nov 27, 2016

A painting by Korean abstract artist Kim Whan-ki has been sold for 6.32 billion won (US$5.36 million) on Sunday, making it the most expensive South Korean art work ever sold.At Seoul Auction's 20th Hong Kong Sale, held at the Hong Kong Grand Hyatt, the yellow-dotted oil painting named "12-V-70 #172" broke the previous record of 5.4 billion won set by the very same artist during an auction held in Seoul in June.The auction for the work, completed in New York in 1970, started at 4.5 billion won, b
[Arts calendar] Musicals, exhibitions, concerts and more

Nov 25, 2016

Pop Music “Hyundai Card Curated 31 Dean with Club Eskimo”: Rhythm and blues singer-producer Dean is holding a concert with members of music movement Club Eskimo, which include rappers Crush, Punchnello and producer Millic, among others, on Dec. 23 at 8 p.m. at the Hyundai Card Understage in Itaewon. Dean has been garnering attention both inside and out of the country for his sophisticated yet soulful hip hop-infused R&B tunes. Tickets are priced at 88,000 won and can be reserved at ticket.interp
Hyesang Park returns home to play Juliet

Nov 24, 2016

Rising opera star Hyesang Park is returning to South Korea to take on the role of one of the most iconic leading ladies -- Shakespeare’s Juliet. Park will be performing in the Korea National Opera’s upcoming staging of Charles Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet” from Dec. 8-11. The Korean opera singer has been making waves in the international opera realm, winning numerous competition titles and even having been praised by the New York Times for her “bright, clear voice and impressive coloratura techniq
Latin American art sells for nearly $23m at Christie's auction

Nov 24, 2016

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Christie’s on Wednesday wrapped up one of its biggest auctions of Latin American art at $22.7 million, with seven Cuban painters drawing record prices as interest in the region's artists climbs.In a two-day sale, Christie’s auctioned nearly 300 lots of five major private collections. Although the total came in below the expected $30 million, it was still one of the auction house's largest takes for Latin American art. “There were strong results for the collection of Cuban works
Artday to hold November auction

Nov 23, 2016

Herald Artday, a subsidiary of Herald Corp., is holding an online auction from Nov. 25 to 29, presenting major works of art by contemporary Korean and international artists. The art auction will feature numerous artworks of renowned artists including Lee Wal-jong’s “The Middle of Jeju Life.” The collection also includes Korea’s pioneering abstract artist Ryu Kyung-chai’s paintings, Lim Jik-soon’s European-inspired “Sunrise” and other works by contemporary artists, including Eva Armisen, Takashi