Asia Triennial Manchester has come round again, with two weeks of contemporary art from around Asia. The event was last held in 2014, with a focus on China, which somewhat squeezed any Korean interest out of the programme. ATM18: Where are you from? No, where are you really from? 5 – 21 October 2018, Manchester www.atm.mmu.ac.uk … [Read More]
Artist: Lee Hyung-koo (이형구)
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]
Have a Good Day, Mr Kim! – Choi and Lager’s summer exhibition in Cologne
Nowhere near London, but I’m posting this just because I wish I could find a conveniently-timed flight to get me to the opening event, as this is an exhibition I’d love to get to. I fear that this press release is the closest I’m going to get. Choi and Lager have assembled a pretty impressive … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Who is Alice? – Works from the MMCA collection at Spazio Lightbox, Venice
In previous years, the Venice Biennale has featured a number of Korea-related shows as collateral events scattered around the islands, giving a dedicated visitor the opportunity to walk through the backstreets and explore the vaporetto network while enjoying new artworks. In 2013 most of the Korean artists were gathered together in one place, in an … [Read More]
Who is Alice? – MMCA’s Biennale Collateral event
The Venice Biennale always has some Korean artists participating in collateral events, but this is the first time I can think of that there has been a major government-sponsored initiative. This special exhibition features works from the permanent collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Exhibition announcement courtesy of the MMCA. Who … [Read More]
Hyungkoo Lee at Bexley Heritage Trust: BEASTLY HALL – A place where artists and creatures collide
Hyungkoo Lee at Bexley Heritage Trust BEASTLY HALL – A place where artists and creatures collide 28 March – 1 September 2013 Celebrate 60 years of our historic Queen’s Beasts topiaries by escaping into a world of fantastical creatures. Meet a carnival of unlikely monsters and unnatural beings in the new exhibition, Beastly Hall. Featuring … [Read More]
High-rise Korean art at NEO Bankside from Choi and Lager
2012 has been a year when Korean art has emerged from the sterile white cube of the gallery to be displayed in real-life spaces. From working offices to inhabited domestic settings, it has been a good year for seeing art in places where you can live with and enjoy it on a daily basis rather … [Read More]
One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy: Art in Residence at NEO Bankside
This year, we have begun to see Korean art exhibited in more imaginative venues. Not the white cubes or the formal commercial or public galleries, but places where you can imagine artworks actually living and breathing: in a domestic space, or in an office reception. From Albemarle’s Korean Art show at Moor House to ISKAI’s … [Read More]
Sesame and Saatchi – two contemporary Korean art exhibitions
The first hanging of the Moon Generation exhibition, for all the fanfares which went with it, was disappointing. Single works by different artists can work in a room together – Christie’s showed us how with their recent photography sale – but the Moon Generation curator’s first shot at doing so failed. In part, this was … [Read More]
Guerrilla artists take on the establishment
In the north-east extremities of the City, on the fringes of bohemian Hoxton, is I-MYU, a small gallery on the first floor of a shared block. You need to ring the doorbell to gain admittance. Since its opening nearly two years ago, I-MYU has been championing the cause of Korean artists. Im Jeongae and Yu … [Read More]
Korean Eye: Moon Generation at the Saatchi Gallery
News of a big Korean contemporary art exhibition in a high profile gallery, with lots of big name artists, many of whom will be familiar to gallery-frequenters in London. I’ll do a proper article shortly, but in the meanwhile, here’s the official notice: Korean Eye: Moon Generation Exhibition to showcase Korea’s premier contemporary artists for … [Read More]
Pseudo-scientist inventing reality: a visit to Lee Hyung-koo’s work at the Venice Biennale 2007
Lee Hyungkoo: The Homo Species Korean Pavillion, 52nd Venice Biennale, 10 June – 21 November 2007 In a Biennale dominated by the theme of war, AIDS, destruction and desolation, it was comforting to find some of the country pavillions conforming to national stereotypes. The French pavillion dissected a love letter written by a rather callous … [Read More]
Korea at the Venice Biennale 2007: Lee Hyungkoo — The Homo Species
Details of Korea’s participation in this year’s Biennale: Hyungkoo Lee: The Home Species Korean Pavilion, Venice, 10 June – 21 November 2007 Curator’s Introduction The starting point of curating this exhibition was to reconsider the geopolitical and cultural specificities of the national pavilion system at the Venice Biennale. Since Belgium had its own exclusive exhibition … [Read More]
ARCO 2007, part 2: details of galleries in the contemporary art strand
The earlier post included all the special Korean events around the ARCO 2007 contemporary art fair. For you art gurus out there, here’s some details of the Korean artists and galleries showing there, direct from the ARCO press office (with email addresses slightly sanitised) —————————- KOREAN GALLERIES IN THE PROGRAM DEDICATED TO THE COUNTRY IN … [Read More]
Kimchi juice: the art medium of the future – a visit to Give me Shelter at Union Gallery
I went to the “Give me Shelter” exhibition at the Union Gallery one lunchtime this week, as it’s only 15 minutes walk from my office. I’ll be going back again. Possibly the easiest works to relate to are the biggest and the smallest. Hyungkoo Lee‘s skeletal coyote and roadrunner occupied a whole room, atmospherically lit. … [Read More]
Exhibition news: Give me Shelter, at the Union Gallery
Thanks to Peter Corbishley who told me about this exhibition over a soju or two at the Anglo-Korean Society V&A evening. At the Union Gallery in Southwark there’s an exhibition of works – sculpture and paintings – by five emerging Korean artists, Hyunjhin Baik, Suejin Chung, Osang Gwon, Dongwook Lee and Hyungkoo Lee. Above is … [Read More]