Lifestyle - The Korea Times

13 of Lee U-fan's paintings confirmed to be forged

Lee U-fan’s “Point”By Yun Suh-youngPolice have confirmed that several of artist Lee U-fan's works were forged.The announcement on Thursday is based on the results of a National Forensic Service probe. Suspicions about the works arose in 2012.Thirteen of Lee's works _ four that were bought by private collectors, eight kept by distributors and sellers and one that was sold at a local auction _ have been confirmed as forgeries. The 13 pieces were compared with Lee's six genuine works exhibited at local museums.Lee is best known in Korea and overseas for his "dansaekhwa" series, or monochrome paintings. His works are also among the most expensive pieces by a Korean artist. His "From Line No. 760219" was sold for $2.16 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York in 2014. Last month, one of his "Wind" series sold for $922,000 at an auction in Hong Kong.Police started their investigation in June last year after allegations that some of Lee's forged works were being sold and distributed. Forged paintings of Lee's "From Point" and "From Line" series were claimed to have been

Jun 3, 2016

13 of Lee U-fan's paintings confirmed to be forged

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‘Fanta-Stick’Seoul Fanta-Stick TheaterThroughout 2016“Fanta-Stick” is performed daily at Seoul Fanta-Stick Theater on an open-ended run. The performance presents representative original Korean music, utilizing traditional Korean instruments to create fusion gugak. Park Ji-hoon, Lee Seok-jae, Kwon Hyun-soo and Na Jung-suk play the main roles of Jangdan and Saemachi. The show also features Yang Ye-rim, Kim Jee, Kim Sae-jin, Yoon Sung-hwan, Kim Byung-soo and Shin Kwang-hee.Tickets cost 30,000 to 60,000 won. For more information, visit www.fanta-stick.co.kr or call (02) 3143-5959. ‘YOULL’Jeongdong TheaterUntil Dec. 31“YOULL,” a dance performance mixed with drama, will be staged at Jeongdong Theater until the end of 2016.The performance will bring a wide range of traditional modes of expression together, including Korean dance, theater, music and martial arts. By applying the heroic fantasy genre to this production, Jeongdong Theater hopes to broaden its popular appeal. Actors Jeon Jin-hong, Lee Hyuk, Park Ji-yeon and Cho Haneul will pl

Jun 2, 2016

Around Town 1

 ‘SAC 11am Concert’Seoul Arts Center*Through Dec. 8On every 2nd Thursday of each month an “11am Concert” will be staged at Seoul Arts Center. / Courtesy of Seoul Arts CenterOn every second Thursday of each month, an “11am Concert” will be staged at the Seoul Arts Center. Chong Park will host performances with commentary, and coffee will be provided for free. With distinct soloists for each concert, the Korean Symphony Orchestra will perform at all of the concerts.Tickets cost 20,000 to 25,000 won. For more information, call (02) 580-1300 or visit www.sac.or.kr. ‘Yang Sung-won’s Chamber Story’Sejong Center for the Performing Arts*June 9-10On June 9 and 10, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts will hold concerts that will allow people to experience chamber music. Sejong’s chamber music series featuring Yang Sung-won is offered six times with four themes on a yearly basis along with top artists from Korea and abroad, such as Trio Owon, Enrico Pace and the Modigliani Quartet. The program includes three famous musi

Jun 2, 2016

Chungmu Art Center CEO vows to foster Korean musicals

Kim Seung-up, CEO of CACBy Kwon Mee-yooChungmu Art Hall, a major theater in central Seoul, changed its name to Chungmu Art Center (CAC), Wednesday, declaring its vision to become a cultural complex centering on producing musicals."The CAC will provide a creative environment for artists and develop its own content as a producing theater," said Kim Seung-up, CEO of CAC.Kim, 64, is a seasoned theater manager who has s worked for Seoul Arts Center, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, the Gimhae Arts and Sports Center and the Busan Cinema Center.The CAC originally opened in 2005 operated by the Jung-gu Cultural Foundation, under the Jung-gu District Office. Kim was inaugurated in January and reorganized the theater to focus on nurturing new homegrown musical productions."Originally the Chungmu Art Hall began as an 800-seat theater, but now it has a 1,200-seat theater, two smaller theaters named Middle Theater Black and Small Theater Blue and a sports center. So we needed a name that could represent the venue in a broader sense. The rechristening came with my inauguration and I thin

Jun 1, 2016

Chungmu Art Center CEO vows to foster Korean musicals

Kim Whan-ki's painting fetches $4.56 bil.

Untitled 3-V-71 #203 (1971) by Kim Whan-ki / YonhapA painting by Korean abstract artist Kim Whan-ki (1913-1974) was sold at auction at the third-highest price ever paid for a Korean artwork, Sunday.The painting “Untitled 3-V-71 #203" (1971) fetched 4.56 billion won (HK$30 million) at Seoul Auction’s event held at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.In April, Kim’s abstract painting “Untitled” (1970) was sold for 4.86 billion won (HK$33 million), breaking his own record for the highest price paid for a Korean artwork. The previous record was “19-Ⅶ-71 #209" (1971), another creation by Kim, which sold for 4.7 billion won at the same event last October.The late artist is considered a pioneer of “Dansaekhwa,” or Korean monochrome painting, having led the modern abstract art movement in Korea during the mid-20th century and realized Asian abstractionism based on communion with nature.

May 30, 2016

Kim Whan-ki's painting fetches $4.56 bil.

S. Korean museum mulls over revealing controversial artwork

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) is said to be considering a move to make public a controversial painting by late artist Chun Kyung-ja, industry sources said Sunday.According to the sources, the MMCA is having an internal discussion whether to bring the painting "Beautiful Woman" to the public eyes and is likely to make a decision sometime this week."We've been hearing that we need to make the artwork public in order to prove its authenticity, and there were also requests by the bereaved family to do so," said an official who requested anonymity. "So we are mulling over the idea of showing the painting to gather opinions from art experts and the public."The painting in question is one of the most famous artworks by Chun, a renowned Korean artist who died last year.She abruptly left the Korean art scene when she was embroiled in a plagiarism scandal over the painting. She argued that the painting stored by the museum was not hers, while the museum claimed it was genuine.If revealed, it would mark the first time for the painting to be made public in 25 years. Since

May 29, 2016

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  ‘Fanta-Stick’Seoul Fanta-Stick TheaterThroughout 2016 “Fanta-Stick” is performed daily at Seoul Fanta-Stick Theater on an open-ended run. The performance presents representative original Korean music, utilizing traditional Korean instruments to create fusion gugak. Park Ji-hoon, Lee Seok-jae, Kwon Hyun-soo and Na Jung-suk play the main roles of Jangdan and Saemachi. The show also features Yang Ye-rim, Kim Jee, Kim Sae-jin, Yoon Sung-hwan, Kim Byung-soo and Shin Kwang-hee.Tickets cost 30,000 to 60,000 won. For more information, visit www.fanta-stick.co.kr or call (02) 3143-5959. ‘YOULL’Jeongdong TheaterUntil Dec. 31 “YOULL,” a dance performance mixed with drama, will be staged at Jeongdong Theater until the end of 2016.The performance will bring a wide range of traditional modes of expression together, including Korean dance, theater, music and martial arts. By applying the heroic fantasy genre to this production, Jeongdong Theater hopes to broaden its popular appeal. Actors Jeon Jin-hong, Lee Hyuk, Park Ji-yeo

May 26, 2016

Around Town 1

‘SAC 11am Concert’Seoul Arts Center*Through Dec. 8On every second Thursday of each month, an “11am Concert” will be performed at Seoul Arts Center. / Courtesy of Seoul Arts CenterOn every second Thursday of each month, an “11am Concert” will be staged at the Seoul Arts Center. Chong Park will host performances with commentary, and coffee will be provided for free. With distinct soloists for each concert, the Korean Symphony Orchestra will perform at all of the concerts.Tickets cost 20,000 to 25,000 won. For more information, call (02) 580-1300 or visit www.sac.or.kr. ‘Yang Sung-won’s Chamber Story’Sejong Center for the Performing ArtsJune 9-10On June 9 and 10, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts will hold chamber music concerts. / Courtesy of Sejong Center for the Performing ArtsOn June 9 and 10, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts will hold concerts that will allow people to experience chamber music. Sejong’s chamber music series featuring Yang Sung-won is offered six times with four themes on a y

May 26, 2016

Korean pavilion opens at Venice Architecture Biennale

South Korea on Thursday unveiled its pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, Italy, two days ahead of the official opening on Saturday.The biannual event, under the title of "Reporting from the Front," is directed by Alejandro Aravena, the Chilean winner of this year's Pritzker prize. He is widely known for his long-term dedication to using architecture to achieve social equality."There are several battles that need to be won and several frontiers that need to be expanded in order to improve the quality of the built environment and consequently people's quality of life," he said, according to the organizer's website."More and more people in the planet are in search for a decent place to live and the conditions to achieve it are becoming tougher and tougher by the hour."The exhibition with 88 artists from 37 countries will take place from May 28 to Nov. 27 in the Giardini and Arsenale areas, and in other parts of the city.South Korean installation artist Choi Jae-eun will show her project "Dreaming of Earth" about the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in collabora

May 26, 2016

Sketch for Chun's 'Beautiful Woman' found

By Kwon Mee-yooThough renowned artist Chun Kyung-ja (1924-2015) passed away, controversy over the authenticity of her painting "Beautiful Woman" never ends.According to a report by local media Wednesday, a sketch similar to the painting in question was found among some 4,000 pieces in a collection of Chun's works and art supplies donated to Pukyong National University in Busan."Beautiful Woman" is a bold, colorful portrait of a woman.When the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) put the painting on display in 1990, Chun said that it was a fake. "Parents can recognize one's child,” she said. “That is not my painting."The MMCA, which claims the piece is genuine, is said to have acquired it from a confiscated collection of art.When Chun passed away last August, the artist's children brought up the controversy again to clear her name. They filed a lawsuit against the MMCA in March, claiming that the museum has abused the painter's rights and demanding it be taken down.While inspecting the donated collection, a gallery owner found the sketch which has many sim

May 25, 2016

Arts & Theater

Arts & Theater

13 of Lee U-fan's paintings confirmed to be forged

Around Town 2

Around Town 1

Chungmu Art Center CEO vows to foster Korean musicals

Kim Whan-ki's painting fetches $4.56 bil.

S. Korean museum mulls over revealing controversial artwork

Around Town 2

Around Town 1

Korean pavilion opens at Venice Architecture Biennale

Sketch for Chun's 'Beautiful Woman' found

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