The Korea Herald

Stolen Gauguin and Bonnard paintings found in Italy

Apr 2, 2014

Two paintings worth millions of euros by the French artists Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard, stolen in London in 1970 then abandoned on a train, have been recovered in Italy.Gauguin's "Fruit on a table or small dog" and Bonnard's "Woman with two chairs," which were stolen from a family house in the British capital, were recovered from an Italian factory worker who had hung them in his kitchen for almost 40 years.The Gauguin painting is worth between 10 and 30 million euros ($13 and $41 million)
Delivering voices of Iranian women

Apr 2, 2014

Media artist Shirin Neshat’s 20 years of work on show
Finnish choreographer teams up with traditional Korean dancers

Mar 31, 2014

National Dance Company collaborates with foreign choreographer for 1st time
Korean Air wins copyright suit

Mar 28, 2014

The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Thursday that the photo Korean Air used for its TV commercial did not infringe on American photographer Michael Kenna’s copyright of the well-known photograph “Pine Trees.” The court admitted similarities but dismissed Kenna’s copyright claim. “Kenna’s photo and the carrier’s commercial photo look similar to each other because both depict the same pine tree island and its reflection on the water, featuring the same natural elements of water, sky and tree
Curators gather famed signatures from U.S. archives

Mar 26, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) ― An eclectic mix of some of the most cherished autographs in history ― including those of George Washington and Michael Jackson ― are on display to showcase what curators say is the dying art of the signature. The “Marking the Mark” exhibit, which opened Friday at the National Archives, includes more than 100 original signatures by the famous and infamous and is the result of a wide search by curators for signatures representing important names and events in history. The exhibi
Composer Schwartz talks ‘Wicked’ politics

Mar 25, 2014

While the popular musical “Wicked” is largely promoted in Korea as a fairy tale-like story about two witches, its composer Stephen Schwartz put the show’s political interpretation in the spotlight during a press conference in Seoul on Monday. “The other day in America, somebody died recently,” he told reporters. “His name is Fred Phelps. He was a very angry person who used to organize pickets at funerals. And he caused a lot of trouble. When he died, someone wrote an article for one of our major
[Weekender] Korean musicals evolve

Mar 21, 2014

More local producers make forays into overseas market
[Weekender] For better or worse? K-pop stars flood the stage

Mar 21, 2014

While Broadway is certainly no stranger to shows led by big-time Hollywood talent, the trend of Korean musicals casting K-pop stars has gotten to the point where it’s now almost routine in a large production. The inclusion of K-pop stars not only helps sell shows, it has become an almost unspoken policy that any non-Broadway musical that wants to hit it big should include a popular K-pop star in its cast. Whether it’s Girls’ Generation’s Jessica in “Legally Blonde,” 2PM’s Jun.K and SHINee’s Key
Kim Jang-hoon to hold special exhibit on former sex slaves in Shanghai

Mar 20, 2014

South Korean pop singer Kim Jang-hoon will hold a special exhibition of photos depicting Korean women forced into sex slavery by the Japanese military during World War II as part of his upcoming art show in Shanghai, his management agency said Thursday.Kim plans to hold the art show on South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo from April 17-26 at the Korean cultural center in Shanghai to help raise the Chinese people’s awareness that Dokdo is part of South Korea.The singer will add the special e
Apartments, dream home for Koreans

Mar 19, 2014

Exhibition sheds light on high-rises’ unusual place in Korean society
Yukio Ninagawa stages ‘Musashi’ in Seoul

Mar 18, 2014

Yukio Ninagawa, a Japanese theater director best known for his Japanese adaptations of Shakespeare plays and Greek tragedies, is presenting his Japanese Zen comedy-drama “Musashi” in Seoul this month. “I guess I am known as the director who interprets Shakespeare plays in a very Japanese way,” the director told reporters during a press conference in Seoul. “But with ‘Musashi,’ I wanted to do something that does not rely on Shakespeare (and his scripts).”The upcoming show is Ninagawa’s second pie
Cheonggyecheon frozen in time

Mar 17, 2014

Photographer J. Ahn, who has chronicled the changing scenery along the Cheonggyecheon Stream with her camera, is exhibiting her work at the Sejong Art Center’s Museum of Art starting Wednesday.Though she has photographed cities such as New York, Paris and Havana, Ahn said, she has always been fascinated by the back alleys of the belatedly redeveloped section of downtown Seoul. “The back alleys of Cheonggycheon had many beautiful and profound colors. A single color isn’t enough to depict them. I’
Auctions of Chun family collection raise W7.2 billion

Mar 13, 2014

Hundreds of artworks from the family of ex-President Chun Doo-hwan have sold out in auctions that ended earlier this week, raising 7.2 billion won ($6.7 million) in total, auction houses said Thursday.Prosecutors seized some 600 pieces of art during their search of homes and houses of the ex-president‘s family members in July as part of their efforts to collect a huge amount of the wealth the former leader illegally accumulated during his rule in the 1980s.The items had been sold by the nation’s
Depictions of ‘body aches’ in modern society

Mar 13, 2014

Sungkok Art Museum explores the idea of society being overwhelmed by stress and anxiety in relation to the body
Diaspora, women artists

Mar 12, 2014

Three Korean women artists who spent most of their lives outside Korea have presented artistic records of their identities at a group exhibition at Seoul Museum of Art. Titled “Nobody,” the exhibition showcases installations and photographs through which the artists express their quest to define their identities as Koreans living abroad. Through some works, artists do not only explore their personal identities, but also deal with historical issues such as “comfort women.” Having moved to the U.S