This year-long exhibition as part of the Korea/UK 2017-18 cultural collaboration brings together a range of approaches and responses to Korean ceramics. From work that is purely functional to work that is purely decorative, via work that seeks to critique contemporary Korean society, the unifying element is the quality of the craftsmanship and execution. Yoon … [Read More]
Artist: Kang Ik-joong (강익중)
2017 travel diary 10: A lazy weekend in Seoul
Insadong, Seoul, 6 May 2018. There is never a shortage of things to do in Seoul. For the final weekend of my 2017 Korea trip I had not scheduled anything other than a couple of dinner engagements. I could easily have done nothing apart from hanging out in my new favourite coffee shop. Their fresh salads … [Read More]
A review of the London Korean year 2016
As is traditional at this time of year, we look back at some of the highlights of the London Korean Year. Exhibitions Is it my imagination, or was there less going on this year? Certainly from the perspective of contemporary art, we have been through a lull this year. With HADA Contemporary gone, Mokspace reborn … [Read More]
Kang Ik-joong’s Floating Dreams: the stories
As Kang Ik-joong said of his installation on the Thames: his motive in collecting drawings from the North Koreans displaced by the Korean War was actually to collect their stories. Here are some of those stories, as shared on the Totally Thames website. Park Yun Ok (age 95) http://totallythames.org/blog/floating-dreams-one-dream-many-stories “My name is Park Yun Ok. … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Kang Ik-joong’s Moon Jars at Robilant + Voena
With Kang Ik-joong’s specially commissioned work floating prominently on the river outside Tate Modern, Robilant and Voena have chosen an opportune time to exhibit a collection of his moon jar paintings. Also on show is Things I Know (2010) an installation of 500 small moon jars arranged in a circle. He may have been pulling … [Read More]
Kang Ik-joong’s Floating Dreams for Korean reunification
Kang Ik-joong’s installation entitled Floating Dreams is a symbol of hope for the unification of Korea. Moored on the Thames outside Tate Modern, the installation is an assembly of 500 drawings in the shape of a cube – four square sides and a flat upper surface each featuring a grid of 10 x 10 pictures … [Read More]
Exhibition news: Kang Ik-joong — Moon Jar, at Robilant+Voena
Coinciding with his installation on the Thames, an exhibition in Dover Street: Ik-Joong Kang – The Moon Jar 6 – 23 September 2016 Robilant+Voena | 38 Dover Street | London W1S 4NL The sky is blue before the full moon night and it wears the bright new dress on the morning of New Year’s Day. … [Read More]
Kang Ik-joong’s Floating Dreams installed on the Thames
For one reason or another, today at the office I had my eyes glued to my PC screen most of the day. I didn’t have much time to enjoy the view from my window, from where I can see the Thames around the Greenwich peninsula. Which meant that I managed to miss one of the … [Read More]
Chuseok at the British Museum – 17 Sept
A chance to catch up on the things you didn’t manage to fit in on Friday evening. This is the last of three special Chuseok sessions at the British Museum, and with so much going on you’ll need to plan carefully. Here’s LKL’s unofficial timetable to assist (click for a full-size version): Follow these links … [Read More]
Chuseok at the British Museum – 16 Sept
It’s going to be hard to choose between the various events on offer this Friday evening – the second of three special Chuseok days at the British Museum. The essential session is Kang Ik-joong’s talk about his installation on the Thames, at 7pm in the BP Lecture Theatre, but half an hour seems rather brief … [Read More]
Event news: Kang Ik-joong’s floating installation for Totally Thames
New York based Korean artist Kang Ik-joong will have a work prominently displayed on the river by the Millennium Bridge as part of the Totally Thames festival this September. The official release from the Totally Thames website is reproduced below, and Yonhap has a report from today’s press launch in Seoul. Floating Dreams by Ik-Joong … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #31: We are all heroes – Baseball and the Bull at Seoul Museum
Seoul Museum, Buamdong, Seoul, Saturday 14 September, 4pm. Seoul Museum’s current exhibition focuses on Park Chan-ho, an inspirational baseball player who played in the US, including at the LA Dodgers, in a career that spanned 18 years from 1994 to 2012. An oversized sculpture of him in Gwon Osang’s familiar style greets you as you … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #17: Suncheon Garden Expo — The Bridge of Dreams
Suncheon-si, Tuesday 10 September, 11am. The expo precincts are shaped like an inverted triangle, its long northern baseline lying on a straight road which leads eastwards to Gwangwang and westwards towards the tea fields of Boseong. This baseline is about two kilometres long, but in the heat it feels three times that. At the Sancheong … [Read More]
I need to win the lottery – fast
Coming up this month is a big sale of Korean work at Christie’s sale rooms in New York. The flagship piece is a mature work by Kim Whanki (1913-1974) with the rather dull title of 2-V-73 #313. If the estimated $1 million price tag is beyond all but the uber-rich and lottery winners, there are … [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #3: Moon Vases and Kim Gun Mo
Friday 30 April 2010. As usual, my arrival through Incheon Airport is swift and stress-free. Morgan, my interpreter, is there to meet me, my rental phone is ready for pickup at the SK Telecom desk, plus this time I have the added luxury of a driver (though the hotel limo-bus I usually take is also … [Read More]
Royal Ancestors – the Live Tweets
8 March: Just heard some good news. Time to start planning a trip to Seoul in early May # 13 April: Really looking forward to my Korea trip later this month. Jongmyo rituals in Seoul and springtime herbs in Sancheong, Gyeongsannamdo. Perfect. Provided the volcanic ash lets up.# 18 April: Will the 30 April Indieful … [Read More]