An exhibition of modern art works visualizing South Korean pop star G-Dragon's cultural vision kicked off at a Seoul gallery Tuesday.
The "PEACEMINUSONE: Beyond the Stage" exhibition opened at the Seoul Museum of Art in central Seoul to showcase some 200 works of art, ranging from installations, sculptures and photographs to paintings.
The works were created in collaboration with the member of the popular K-pop boy band BigBang and 12 contemporary artists at home and abroad, including Michael Scoggins, Sophie Clements from the U.S., James Clar and Quayola, both from London, and Fabien Verschaere from France, along with domestic counterparts such as Kwon Oh-sang and Bang & Lee.
Also among the items on display are art pieces from G-Dragon's own collection and his own creations.
The singer spent about a year with the artists to come up with ideas on how to reinterpret his cultural vision into the contemporary art genre, according to his management agency, YG Entertainment.
The title "PEACEMINUSONE" reflects the point of crossing between a peaceful world, the singer's ideal, and the real world which is lacking or full of "minuses."
"I wanted to do a project that crosses between the pop culture and contemporary art," G-Dragon said during a news conference on Monday. "I hope the general public that has no knowledge of art or thinks art is too difficult will be able to become familiar with the genre through me."
The exhibition has drawn much attention for being the first-ever exhibition of art works created in collaboration with a pop singer and genuine artists.
"The collaboration with G-Dragon was both an experiment and a burden," Kim Hong-hee, director of the museum, said during the news conference. "Such a challenge usually accompanies a risk but no change can come without a try."
She said her museum set a precedent for future artists by visualizing G-Dragon's musical vision in art works and that this will be a chance to attract new museum-goers.
The exhibit is scheduled to run till Aug. 23 and will go on tour in Shanghai and Singapore later. (Yonhap)