The exhibition at La Galleria is entering its last two weeks. A number of the artworks that were in the gallery last time I visited are no longer there, having found good homes1, and the opportunity has been taken to move some of the pictures around to give more prominents positions to some artists previously … [Read More]
Category: Exhibition reviews and comment (page 21)
Millennium Dream – ceramic and textile artists from Gyeongsangbuk-do
It’s taken a while, but here is some more information on the artists and artisans from Gyeongsangbuk-do who were exhibiting in Mayfair earlier this year. It’s a shame that their sojourn was so brief. The quality and interest of their work was equal to that displayed in the Traditional Yet Contemporary exhibition last year, and … [Read More]
Growing interest in DPRK art show
The North Korean art exhibition in Pall Mall is gathering momentum. A small-scale re-hang has seen more propaganda posters in the window facing the Institute of Directors (above), which encourages passing traffic. The jewel painting is now hung so that pedestrians in the Royal Opera Arcade get greeted by it. The big painting of the … [Read More]
A North Korean coup, years in the planning
Prologue The North Korean flag stirred gently in the breeze in Pall Mall, the heart of London’s clubland, a few hundred yards from Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. An elderly gentleman pottered up the steps to the Athenaeum. The blue and red flag caught his eye, but its significance did not register. A young woman … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Artists, Art and Culture of D. P. R. Korea
By Susan Pares For what is said to be the first time, the arts of North Korea hit the London gallery scene. North Korean contemporary art can be viewed periodically at the Korea Gallery of the British Museum, but this exhibition offers the chance for larger exposure to media and themes that are typical of … [Read More]
Roe Kyung-jo: From Canvas to Ceramic
Gallerie Besson, 15 Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond Street, London W1S 4SP 25 April – 24 May 2007 Professor Roe Kyung-jo (노경조) made a rare appearance in London yesterday for the opening of his exhibition at Galerie Besson. Roe’s work was on display in London last year as part of the Traditional Yet Contemporary exhibition … [Read More]
Catering for the Audience – a review of Sora Kim’s Melting Alaska
Sora Kim — Melting Alaska, BALTIC, Gateshead 14 February – 29 April 2007 Review by Beccy Kennedy Whilst munching on spicy chorizo stotties — a dish given the name Smoky Mountain — we browsed the inimitable menus, commented on the amorous musical medley and read the bright red words stuck to the windows, trying to … [Read More]
“Experience” the mass games without leaving London
Andreas Gursky: new work White Cube Gallery, 23 Mar – 5 May 2007 One day my fairy godmother will wave her wand and magic me an all-expenses paid trip to Pyongyang to see the Arirang festival. Ever since seeing Dan Gordon’s film A State of Mind I’ve been wanting to experience the spectacle live. The … [Read More]
No Wonjogyoje, but lots of bum cleavage
You can’t use refined language when it comes to Seunghee Kang’s work. It’s vibrant, lively, robust, and anything but refined. The colours leap out at you, the images full of fun but also somehow disturbing. And it’s difficult to know what to make of them. The centrepiece of the “Odd Couple” show in Bermondsey is … [Read More]
Song from the roof-top
Bada Song’s Installation Piece at “So-Called Life” exhibition, Camberwell College of Arts, 11 January – 9 February 2007. Review by Beccy Kennedy The photographs and installation art works displayed in the foyer of the Camberwell College of Arts for “So-called Life” are challenging of our expectations of the exhibition space and also perhaps of our … [Read More]
Is it Mrs Blair who’s farting Hangul?
Prompted by Beccy Kennedy’s thoughtful comments on the Still Dynamics exhibition, I popped over the river to the Jerwood Space yesterday lunchtime. The result is this somewhat tabloid counterblast — hoping to prompt some more of you to go along to see it for yourself. The most eye-catching work in the show is Seunghee Kang’s … [Read More]
Korean art: Unstoppable forces and immovable objects
Still Dynamics: The Korean Contemporary Art Show The Jerwood Space, 14-20 December Review by Beccy Kennedy The serene setting of the Jerwood Space provides the perfect offset for the vivid works of eleven Korean artists. With the exception of Kira Kim’s light installation, I Love U, and Sangjun Roh’s miniature, cardboard people, the works are … [Read More]
Uncovering Wonderland
Review of the Asia House exhibition by Beccy Kennedy The multi-storey, multi-story exhibition of contemporary Korean art at Asia House, Through the Looking Glass, provides a multi-faceted Korean art experience, in terms of the media used and the themes approached by the artists. Independent curator, Jiyoon Lee, uses the looking glass as an audience-friendly metaphor … [Read More]
Circuit Diagram at Cell gallery
What do a 20 dollar bill, a spirit level, a geodesic dome, and a loudspeaker chanting Mongolian love songs in Korean have in common? That’s the question posed by the introduction to a multinational contemporary art show in the Cell gallery space in Cambridge Heath Road, Hackney. And answered. The loudspeaker chanting the Mongolian love … [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]
Yoko Ono at St Pauls
I was trying to find an excuse to plug an event put on by a charity I’m involved with. It’s an installation of two of Yoko Ono’s works, at St Paul’s Cathedral as part of the City of London Festival. The major piece is Morning Beams, installed in the north transept, modelled by the artist … [Read More]