The Korea Herald

Record-breaking Chinese artist Zeng lifts the mask

Oct 21, 2013

PARIS (AFP) ― His 2001 painting “The Last Supper” has just sold for $23 million, but growing up in a working class family during China’s Cultural Revolution, Zeng Fanzhi could never have anticipated the path his life would take.“The notion of the artist didn’t exist,” he said of his art school days in the central Hubei province.“We were art workers. We didn’t know that we could be free and independent,” Zeng, in Paris for a retrospective of his works, told AFP.Based on Leonardo da Vinci’s master
Hanks’ Mary Poppins tale closes London Film Fest

Oct 21, 2013

LONDON (AFP) ― The London Film Festival closed on Sunday with the world’s first screening of “Saving Mr Banks,” the humorous and moving tale of Mary Poppins’ adaption for the big screen.The film off the film, released in the United States in mid-December, explores the stormy relationship between celebrated Hollywood producer Walt Disney, played by Tom Hanks, and Pamela Lyndon Travers, the Mary Poppins author portrayed on film by British actress Emma Thompson.Having fallen under the spell of the
Jesus Christ through lensof traditional Korean culture

Oct 20, 2013

Woonbo Kim Ki-chang’s paintings depicting the life of Jesus Christ in a Korean culture setting are on exhibit at Seoul Museum
'The Lion King' to set new milestone on Broadway

Oct 19, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) – ``The Lion King'' has more reason to roar – it's on pace to end the week as the first Broadway show to earn $1 billion.According to The Broadway League, the show ended last week with a 16-year gross of $999,267,836, and it regularly pulls in between $1 million and $2 million a week over eight performances at the Minskoff Theatre.The show, featuring the music of Elton John and Tim Rice, including the Academy Award-winning ``Can You Feel the Love Tonight,'' brought the 1994 animate
Learning to make the perfect cup

Oct 18, 2013

Seoul offers a number of places where one can learn to make coffee, using various machines and techniques. If you prefer a cup of latte over espresso, there are latte art classes available as well.Latte art is a method of preparing coffee by pouring steamed milk into a shot of espresso that results in a pattern or design on the surface of the drink. Local coffee company Hollys Coffee ((02) 2188-7100) offers latte art classes at its Hollys Academy in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul. The introducto
Lee U-fan awarded Geumgwan Order of Culture Merit

Oct 17, 2013

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has awarded artist Lee U-fan the Geumgwan Order of Culture Merit for his contributions to contemporary art. Lee is known for his minimalist paintings and sculptures and has contributed to the development of Korean monochrome painting, which has gained worldwide recognition. He is one of the founders and leaders of the avant garde Mono-ha group, which rejects Western notions of representation in art and instead relies on the Eastern method of focusing o
Van Gogh’s artistic ‘repetitions’ featured in D.C. show

Oct 16, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Vincent van Gogh’s various versions of some of his well-known paintings are featured in the first major exhibit of his artwork in Washington in 15 years at The Phillips Collection.“Van Gogh Repetitions” opens Saturday to examine some of the artist’s familiar paintings, looking at how he repeated certain compositions during his 10-year career. It was organized with the Cleveland Museum of Art, which will host the exhibit in March.The new exhibit is a bright spot for museum visit
From trees, utility poles to artwork: Brazilian artist Carvalhosa reflects on transitional state

Oct 15, 2013

Exhibition at Kukje Gallery brings wooden utility pole installation to Seoul
Banksy sells canvases for $60 in New York

Oct 15, 2013

NEW YORK (AFP) ― World-famous British street artist Banksy flogged original canvases for just $60 in Central Park over the weekend as part of a month-long residency in New York.While his work can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, his website announced that minimal interest and sluggish sales resulted in takings of just $420.The stall was set up on day 13 of his pop-up exhibition in New York, announced each day on the website www.banksyny.com and posted to his instagram account.The Engla
Witnessing cities in the movement of bodies

Oct 15, 2013

Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau’s works offer abstract, imaginative images of Iceland, Moscow and Siena
Qatar unveils Damien Hirst’s ‘Miraculous Journey’

Oct 14, 2013

DOHA (AFP) ― Qatar unveiled 14 massive bronze sculptures by British artist Damien Hirst charting the gestation of a human being from conception to birth.The “Miraculous Journey” statues were uncovered for a day last week outside the Sidra Medical and Research Centre, still under construction on the outskirts of Doha.They were put back under wraps until Jan. 14 to “protect them while work is ongoing” in the area, the Qatar Museums Authority explained.The project is an initiative by Sheikha Al-May
Thieves target another sculpture by Henry Moore

Oct 14, 2013

LONDON (AFP) ― A “high value” Henry Moore sculpture has been stolen from a Scottish park, police said Sunday, the latest of several thefts of the British artist’s work in recent years.The 1950 bronze, entitled “Standing Figure,” was one of four Moore works in the Glenkiln Sculpture Park near Dumfries in southwest Scotland, alongside others by Auguste Rodin and Jacob Epstein.Moore, who died in 1986 aged 88, was widely regarded as Britain’s best 20th-century sculptor. A string of his giant bronzes
Japanese breakdancer wins Asia-Pacific contest

Oct 14, 2013

FUKUOKA, Japan (AFP) ― A Japanese breakdancer has spun and somersaulted his way into the sport’s global finals to be staged in South Korea next month after winning a regional competition on home soil. Noritoshi “Nori” Kikuchi showed off a series of downrocks, power moves and freezes to emerge victorious at the “Red Bull BC One” contest held inside a historic Shinto shrine in the southern city of Fukuoka on Saturday.The knockout tournament featured 16 elite dancers from several countries, includi
Wind succeeds pine in new Bae Bien-u collection

Oct 13, 2013

Photographer showcases 30 photographs capturing Jeju landscape
Korean landscape painting meets Swarovski Elements

Oct 10, 2013

Typically black and white Korean traditional ink-and-brush landscape paintings are given a touch of brilliance in works by artist Kim Jong-sook.The artist uses thousands of small Swarovski Elements, high quality crystal pieces by Swarovski, in her traditional Korean landscape paintings. There have been many attempts to reinterpret Oriental landscape paintings by contemporary artists, and with Swarovski crystals, Kim transforms the calm, serene landscape into a world of fantasy and imagination. H