At first, it doesn’t seem like art befitting the white cube gallery space. The pitch-black piece of paper looks as if someone burned it until it was about to turn to ashes. Yet, the work, currently on exhibit at Arario Gallery, sums up the lifetime endeavor of first-generation Korean avant-garde artist Choi Byung-so. Based in Daegu, the birthplace of Korean avant-garde art, Choi has been drawing repetitive lines and circles on newspapers with ballpoint pens and pencils for more than 40 years.  I

This year’s Tongyeong International Music Festival will pay homage to the late composer Isang Yun in his hometown of Tongyeong through the festival’s new theme of “Voyage.”The festival will commemorate the 20th anniversary of Yun’s death.The Korean-German composer was praised for his constant struggle to bridge the musical gap between Europe and Asia and his personal “voyage” to create different styles and sounds with his compositions. The annual TIMF will be opening its curtains this season on

Artist Kim Young-jun is holding a solo exhibition, presenting his modern interpretations of traditional lacquer and mother-of-pearl art, at the Korea Art Center in Insa-dong, Seoul. The exhibition presents 45 works, including the latest “Cosmos” series and modern furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl, as well as the decorated version of Microsoft’s video game console Xbox ordered by Bill Gates. “I developed the new ‘Cosmos’ series from my round lacquer paintings inlaid with mother-of-pearl. It p

Crazy Horse Paris, an internationally renowned performance house from France, will officially make its way to Seoul next month to perform its signature nude cabaret show in the country, organizers announced Monday.Popularly known as “Le Crazy,” the French cabaret house recently gained final approval from the Korean authorities to stage its famous artistic nude show here for audiences over age 19, according to W&FUN. Crazy Horse Paris, considered one of France’s hallmark cabaret houses alongside

A rebel at heart, Choi Sun defies use of pretty images in art

Dance“Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Emptiness”: The Universal Ballet Korea will be staging Nacho Duato’s “Multiplicity, Forms of Silence and Emptiness” as its 2015 season opener. The 1999 ballet is one of Duato’s best-known works and landed the choreographer the prestigious Benois de la Dance prize. As homage to classical music great Johann Sebastian Bach, the two-act ballet tells the story of Bach’s music by combining both baroque music and modern choreography. The Universal Ballet Korea’s

In his first ever opera production in Asia, Italian opera mastermind Stefano Poda has revitalized the seldom-staged tale of poetry, love and betrayal, “Andrea Chenier.”Having worked on nearly 100 opera productions throughout his illustrious career, Poda has taken his relentless and scrupulous eye for visual and artistic perfection in Umberto Giodano’s masterpiece.Although the repertoire is often noted as encompassing the essence of verismo opera, “Andrea Chenier” is all too often overlooked by m

In homage to the legendary German composer Johann Sebastian Bach and his countless masterpieces, the Universal Ballet Korea will be staging its upcoming production of “Multiplicity, Forms of Silence and Emptiness.”Devoted to the retelling of Bach’s life and death through a two-act modern ballet, “Multiplicity, Forms of Silence and Emptiness” is the brainchild of artistic director and choreographer Nacho Duato of the Staatsballett in Berlin.According to the director, the production is an expressi

Local violinist Yang In-mo, 20, has become the first Korean to ever win first place at the annual International Violin Competition Premio Paganini in Genoa, Italy. The young Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation violinist not only took home the top prize at this year’s 54th International Violin Competition Premio Paganini, but was also awarded three secondary special awards including the “Prize in memory of Dr. Enrico Costa” for being the competition’s youngest finalist. Yang will receive 25,600 euro

Media artist Bill Viola holds third solo exhibition in Seoul

Three emerging Korean artists have been invited to the upcoming main exhibition at the Venice Biennale in May, Arts Council Korea said Monday. The state arts agency said three artists ― Kim Ayoung, Nam Hwa-yeon and Im Heung-soon ― have been selected to showcase their works at the international exhibition where 136 artists from 53 countries will be presenting their art. The three Koreans are among the 88 who will be introduced to the global audience in Venice for the first time.  Kim Ayoung (Arts

Renowned opera mastermind Stefano Poda is doing almost everything ― directing, producing, stage designing, costuming and lighting ― except for starring in his upcoming production of Umberto Giordano’s “Andrea Chenier,” which is slated as the Korea National Opera’s 2015 season opener next week. “Please, just a tiny, tiny splash of painted highlights on the gown ... so light that I can barely even see it,” he said to one of the costume stylists as he desperately tried to explain how miniscule he w

Foundation hosts first concert in tribute to late SeAH Group chairman

Seoul Museum of History reveals photographer Hong Soon-tai’s portrayal of old Seoul and photos of the city in the early 1900s taken by missionaries of St. Ottilien Monastery in Germany