The Korea Times

Lee Seung-hee goes beyond typical notions of ceramics

Lee Seung-hee's "Synchronicity" ceramic bamboo grove installation at Park Ryu Sook Gallery in central Seoul / Courtesy of Park Ryu Sook GalleryBy Kwon Mee-yooCeramist Lee Seung-hee breaks away from the traditional notions of practical porcelain. "Ceramics immediately relate to practicality as we are familiar with utility products such as dishes and jars. However, I am more interested in the property of its surface. My ceramic painting extracts the color and shape of white porcelain and presents it in relief style," Lee said during a press conference introducing his solo exhibition “Synchronicity” at Park Ryu Sook Gallery in central SeoulAt the exhibit, Lee presents his creation of a black bamboo grove made from ceramics titled “Synchronicity” and his signature ceramic tile painting series “TAO.”Lee's ceramic bamboo grove was inspired by the tale of red bamboo trees by Chinese poet Su Tungpo. Interpreting the tale with contemporary senses, Lee creates a paradox between the flexibility of real bamboo and the rigidity of pottery.Each joint of the bamb

Sep 19, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Lee Seung-hee goes beyond typical notions of ceramics

Arts & Theater

'Ancestors skipped ancestral rites during pandemic'

The "Hawa illok," written by Ryu Eui-mok, notes that the people of Hahoe Village in North Gyeongsang Province discussed and concluded to not perform rites on Chuseok due to a smallpox outbreak in the village on Aug. 14, 1798. / Courtesy of the Korean Studies InstituteBy Kwon Mee-yooAs COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to countries around the world, the way Koreans commemorate traditional holidays might also be affected by the pandemic.Chuseok, one of the country's two main traditional holidays celebrating the harvest season during which families gather to hold ancestral rituals, is drawing nearer but the number of COVID-19 infections here is not falling.Typically, millions of people join an exodus to their hometowns, clogging highways; but the annual event faces challenges as the government is urging them to refrain from visiting family members or their ancestors' graves to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.Yu Sae-rom, a curator at the National Museum of Korea who organized the "Fighting Epidemics in the Joseon Dynasty" exhibit, said ancestral rites were taboo wh

Sep 16, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

'Ancestors skipped ancestral rites during pandemic'

Arts & Theater

Lee Jin-ju broadens boundaries of Oriental painting with 'The Unperceived'

Installation view of Lee Jin-ju's exhibition "The Unperceived" at Arario Museum in Space in central Seoul. Courtesy of Arario MuseumBy Kwon Mee-yooArtist Lee Jin-ju / Courtesy of the artistArtist Lee Jin-ju's works begin from a basic question of whether what people see is real or not, as each remembers the same thing differently. Lee paid attention to the distortions caused by the subjective viewpoints everyone has.At her solo exhibition "The Unperceived," Lee explores the blind spots of everyday life with delicate strokes. Lee takes elements from reality, but the elements are combined in a surreal way.The title piece "The Unperceived" is a 14-meter-long painting in a unique shape, connecting four pieces of canvas. Lee said she was inspired by ancient scroll paintings in creating this artwork. "When you see a scroll painting on view, usually there are some rolled, unseen parts of the painting as it is difficult to display the entirety of the horizontally long painting. I was always curious about the unseen part, which exists, but does not exist in front of my eyes," Lee said at a pre

Sep 15, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Lee Jin-ju broadens boundaries of Oriental painting with 'The Unperceived'

Entertainment

BTS RM donates for art book campaign

RM of BTS in front of Yun Hyong-keun's painting at "Yun Hyong-keun, a Retrospective” at Palazzo Fortuny in Venice, Italy in this 2019 file photo. / YonhapBy Kwon Mee-yooRM, a member of K-pop sensation BTS, has donated 100 million won ($84,000) to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Foundation, Korea to support the printing of rare and out-of-print art books. According to the museum, RM donated the money on the occasion of his 27th birthday last Saturday and it will be used to print and reissue books on Korean modern and contemporary art and distribute them to about 400 public libraries and schools throughout the country. The books printed with support from RM are catalogues of seven Korean artists Kim Whan-ki, Lee Jung-seob, Varlen Pen, Yoo Young-kuk, Park Nae-hyeon, Yun Hyong-keun and Lee Seung-jio as well as exhibition catalogues, "Birth of the Modern Art Museum: Art and Architecture of MMCA Deoksugung" and "The Modern and Contemporary Korean Calligraphy."RM visited both aforementioned exhibitions on Korea's modern art in 2018 and 2020, respectively, as

Sep 14, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Marnie Weber brings whimsical world to Busan

“Song of the Sea Witch” by Los Angeles-based artist Marnie Weber is installed at Busan Biennale 2020. The artwork is inspired by Bae Su-ah's story “I Had a Single Song.” Courtesy of Busan BiennaleBy Kwon Mee-yooArtist Marnie Weber is known for her fantastical creations combining performance, video, sculpture, music, costume and collage and blurring the boundary between reality and fantasy. The Los Angeles-based artist unravels her latest tale “Song of the Sea Witch” at the Busan Biennale 2020, interpreting the city's coastal nature with her fanciful imagination. Themed "Words at an Exhibition ― an exhibition in ten chapters and five poems," this year's Busan Biennale combines visual art with literature and music. Writers and musicians are matched with artists to interpret the tales of the port city in three venues ― Yeongdo Harbor, Old Town and the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan on Eulsuk Island. Weber took part in the Busan Biennale back in 2008 and presented "The Endless Sea," inspired by her musical activities in the 1970s as "The Spirit Girls

Sep 13, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Marnie Weber brings whimsical world to Busan

Literature meets art in Busan Biennale

Arts & Theater

K-pop stars fuel sudden popularity of livestreamed Korean musicals

A poster for the military musical "Return: The Promise of the Day," which will be livestreamed from Sept. 24 to 26 / Courtesy of Insight Entertainment'Return,' 'Sonata of Flame' to be livestreamed for paying viewersBy Kwon Mee-yooStruggling to survive amid the COVID-19 pandemic, theaters are starting to offer musical fans the chance to watch performances via a paid livestreaming service. "Return: The Promise of the Day," a musical produced by the Korean Army and Insight Entertainment, will hold four special performances from Sept. 24 to 26, which will be livestreamed for paid viewers. The musical premiered last year and is scheduled to be staged again this June, but the second production fell through due to the pandemic. To deal with the cancellation, "Return" was streamed live for free on June 10 and attracted over 2.8 million viewers. The number of viewers is exceptionally high for an online screening of a musical performance ― the popularity of "Return" is a result of its cast consisting of top-tier K-pop stars including D.O. and Xiumin of EXO and former Wanna One member Yoon Ji-s

Sep 9, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

K-pop stars fuel sudden popularity of livestreamed Korean musicals

Arts & Theater

Singer-turned-artist Solbi's work up for auction

"Palette Garden" by Kwon Ji-an, also known as Solbi / Courtesy of MAP CrewBy Kwon Mee-yooSinger-turned-artist Kwon Ji-an, also known as Solbi, put her latest work up for auction. Kwon's "Palette Garden" is open for online bidding till Friday at Seoul Auction's special online auction in collaboration with Jangheung Gana Atelier. Kwon was selected to join the atelier earlier this year and took part in this special online auction with other resident artists at the atelier. Also known as the Gana Art Residence, the atelier is located in Gana Art Park in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, and is known for supporting artists to produce art in a good environment since 2006.The auction is part of atelier's open studio program, in which resident artists have communicated with visitors every third Friday since May. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the open studio program was shifted to online auction. At this auction, participating artists used skateboard decks as canvases. Kwon's "Palette Garden" portrays an artist's thoughts and agony behind the creative process, according to the artist's agency MAP Cr

Sep 8, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Singer-turned-artist Solbi's work up for auction

Arts & Theater

Blowfish, sea urchin found in Silla tomb, dropping hints of ancient diets

Excavation site of the Seobongchong Tomb in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of National Museum of KoreaBy Kwon Mee-yooRemnants of puffer fish, dolphin and sea urchin were found in a recently excavated tomb dating back to the Silla Kingdom (57 BC―935 AD), suggesting that such marine products were consumed and served in rites during the ancient kingdom, the National Museum of Korea (NKM) announced Monday. The museum published a report on the 2016-2017 re-excavation process of Seobongchong, or the Tomb of the Auspicious Phoenix, in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. This report is the 35th in the museum's series of reinvestigations of cultural heritage discovered during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation.Seobongchong is one of the Silla royal tombs in Noseo-dong, Gyeongju. Estimated to be created around the early 4th century, the tomb is in the shape of twin graves ― the north grave was excavated in 1926 and the south one in 1929. Seobongchong is best known for its Gold Crown, designated as Treasure No. 339, with phoenix decorations as well as a variety of other buried goo

Sep 7, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Blowfish, sea urchin found in Silla tomb, dropping hints of ancient diets

Arts & Theater

Choi Min-hwa reinterprets mythical figures in Korean history

Installation view of Choi Min-hwa's solo exhibition “Once Upon a Time” at Gallery Hyundai in central Seoul / Courtesy of Gallery HyundaiMinjung art master returns with 'Once Upon a Time' seriesBy Kwon Mee-yooArtist Choi Min-hwa, who is known for his fiery, realistic Minjung art paintings, has shifted his interest to mythical and historical figures in his latest “Once Upon a Time” series on view at Gallery Hyundai in central Seoul. Choi, 66, is known as a critical figure of Minjung Art, a socio-political art movement that emerged in the 1980s after the Gwangju Democratization Movement. He also contributed to the development of figurative painting of the late 20th century through his "Vagrancy" (1976-1988) and "Pink" (1989~1999) series. For those familiar with his iconic Minjung work, his new series might come as a surprise as he broadens the horizons of humanistic imagination through mythical and historical figures with a wide range of references from the history of art.The "Once Upon a Time" series was conceived in the late 1990s as the artist realized the lac

Sep 4, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Choi Min-hwa reinterprets mythical figures in Korean history

Arts & Theater

Postponed Venice Architecture Biennale curators launch collaborative initiative

Poster for the Korean Pavilion at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale / Courtesy of Arts Council KoreaKorean Pavilion curator Shin Hae-won suggests new statementBy Kwon Mee-yooThe COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the international art scene leading to the Venice Architecture Biennale, the world's leading biannual architecture festival, being postponed until next year.Shin Hae-won, the curator of the Korean Pavilion at the 17th Architecture Biennale, initiated an online dialogue among national pavilion curators as well as the Biennale's chief curator Hashim Sarkis to raise a spirit of togetherness and solidarity amid the global outbreak. The 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, which was originally slated to be held from May 23 to Nov. 29, was initially postponed to an Aug. 29 opening, but eventually delayed a year to May 22 to Nov. 21, 2021. This pushed back the Venice Art Biennale, which is held in each odd-numbered year, to April 23 to Nov. 27, 2022.The biennale's organizers said it was "impossible" to arrange the festival this year amid the coronavirus pandemic

Sep 1, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

Lee Seung-hee goes beyond typical notions of ceramics

'Ancestors skipped ancestral rites during pandemic'

Lee Jin-ju broadens boundaries of Oriental painting with 'The Unperceived'

BTS RM donates for art book campaign

Marnie Weber brings whimsical world to Busan

K-pop stars fuel sudden popularity of livestreamed Korean musicals

Singer-turned-artist Solbi's work up for auction

Blowfish, sea urchin found in Silla tomb, dropping hints of ancient diets

Choi Min-hwa reinterprets mythical figures in Korean history

Postponed Venice Architecture Biennale curators launch collaborative initiative

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