Insadong, Seoul, Saturday 14 September, 8am. However much I plan to rise early and get going with the day when I’m in Seoul, I always seem to be slower than intended. There are too many things to distract me. I have a busy day in front of me: I want to get to the National … [Read More]
Category: Exhibition reviews and comment (page 12)
Sungfeel Yun’s Energy P-04 at Broomhill Sculpture Park
Ever on the lookout for work by Korean artists, LKL visited Broomhill Art Hotel, between Barnstaple and Ilfracombe in North Devon, last week. It was kind of on the way home from a family holiday in North Cornwall – a one-hour detour off the main route, plus a pleasant hour or so browsing around an … [Read More]
Festival Exhibition Visit: Nam June Paik Resounds at the Talbot Rice Gallery
The Talbot Rice Gallery in the University of Edinburgh is the venue for a retrospective of Nam June Paik’s work during the course of the 2013 International festival. While the major show in Tate Liverpool (Dec 2010 – Mar 2011) interestingly devoted a lot of space to his early collaborations, here his video work and … [Read More]
Moon Jar exhibition celebrates the beauty of imperfection
This summer’s exhibition at the KCC marks 130 of relations between the UK and the Korean peninsula. And it is because of those relations, and also because of the good relations built up between the KCC and the British Museum over the years, that the exhibition happened at all. The centrepiece of the exhibition is … [Read More]
Korean artists (and award-winners) at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is now in its last week. And as ever, if you look closely at the catalogue, or have an eye for particular artists’ work, you will find a number of works by London-based Korean artists. Two years, Kwon Daehoon won the Jack Goldhill Award for sculpture at the exhibition, and … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Kim Jihee in Daytime Sleepwalking, in St Pancras Crypt
Some not very good pictures of Kim Jihee’s exhibition in St Pancras Church’s crypt gallery, 1 – 4 August 2013. Intricate drawings of ladies’ coiffure, and creations which demonstrate the artist’s confusion when faced with books in a language that is not hers. Read the press release about the show here. Great location. Click on … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: 오방색 O Bang Saek – the KAA’s fifth residency at the KCC
With the KAA residency at the KCC having become a regular annual fixture in the latter’s calendar, it is possible for the organisers to plan with greater certainty, more secure in the knowledge that there will be a space ready to showcase their talents. The fifth such programme fell in the fifth year of the … [Read More]
Ancient and modern ceramics at the KCC
Shouvik Datta reports from the talk on Korean ceramics at the KCC on 15 July, which was part of a series of events accompanying the current Moon Vase exhibition. It was a warm July day, and Ms Heena Youn, who is currently completing her PhD at SOAS (on a specialist area of ancient Chinese ceramics), … [Read More]
Korean artists at the Slade 2013 MA/MFA degree show: the eternal cycles of life and creation
At the various London art college degree shows, you can usually find a Korean artist or two whose work you have already seen at one or more of the galleries and group shows around town. And you’ll also find maybe one or two people you’ve missed up until now. At the Slade MFA / MA … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Only One – another pleasing show from Mokspace
Once again Mokspace’s most recent exhibition, a group show by Korean and UK-based jewellers, presented a range of desirable and reasonably affordable work. From the playful birds of Yu Jin Lee and rabbit-heads of Yeseul Seo to the work of Hyeju Nam which looks like eccentric Gerard Hoffnung-style musical instruments; from the colourful, rustic tubes … [Read More]
A Soldier’s Tale opening pays tribute to the sacrifice of the veterans
Three years ago, the KCC hosted a special exhibition commemorating 60 years after the start of the Korean War. 40 Korean artists were invited to submit works inspired by themes related to the war, and these works were then auctioned in aid of British war veterans. This year is 60 years after the Korean War … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Kimsooja – To Breathe: Bottari, Venice 2013
In Kimsooja’s work commissioned for the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale this year it was the pavilion itself that was the installation. The Korean Pavilion, designed by Seok Chul Kim and Franco Mancuso is the most recent of the 25 national pavilions to have been constructed in the Giardini and opened for business in … [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]
The sticky craft of lacquerware: Korean crafts at Collect 2013
In our back garden we used to have some Rhus trees. Their leaves go a beautiful red colour in autumn, and their small scale fits well with the shrubs around them. But they’re a bit floppy and every now and then we had to lop a bough off, or even cut one down completely. And … [Read More]
The Hidden Cost of Prosperity – a brave and rewarding exhibition at the KCC
Probably the bravest and among the most thought-provoking exhibitions that the KCC has hosted in its five year history is The Hidden Cost of Prosperity, a look at the darker side of the Miracle on the Han – the exploited underclass. The exhibition was one of the winners of the KCC’s Call for Curators, a … [Read More]
The Duke of Cumberland is legless
OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. He is now missing one foot, exposing the metal armature which has been keeping the soapy statue in one piece. And the left foreleg of his horse looks like it is not long for this world. On the way to see Krys Lee in the global literary salon … [Read More]