Korean art gallery opens in Cleveland

A new gallery dedicated to Korean art in Cleveland, Ohio, will be a boost for the promotion of Korean art in the U.S. mid-west, the Korea Foundation said Tuesday.

Cleveland Museum of Art’s Korea Foundation Gallery, which is set to officially open on Wednesday, has on display a total of 75 pieces of Korean art, ranging from Buddhist paintings and statues to fine arts and ceramics, in a 130 square-meter space. 

Among the exhibited items is a painting of a type of Buddhist monk called Arahan during the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392), one of only 10 such pieces in the world. The other nine paintings are located in Korea and Japan, making Cleveland the only exhibitor in the western hemisphere.

Other notable items include a ninth century statue of Amitabha, a painting of a “tiger family” from the late 1700s, and a folding screen of the Chilbo Mountains, or the seven jeweled peaks, also created in the 1700s.

Most of the items have reportedly been collected since 1916, when the museum opened. The Severance family, an influential Cleveland family who supported the establishment of Severance Hospital in Korea, was a patron of the collection. The Korea Foundation said a special exhibition would be held next to the gallery to highlight Buddhist art in Korea and Japan.

“Opening a gallery requires a lot of money and space. We hope that the gallery will enhance the understanding of Korean arts by the people of Ohio,” said Kim Hye-young, a KF official.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)