2017.10.20 Museums & Galleries

KOO JEONG A: AJEONGKOO

Art Sonje Center, Jongno District

To Sunday: Korean artist Koo Jeong A’s solo exhibition features the 50-year-old artist’s new 3-D animated films, titled “Mysteriousss” (2017) and “Curiousssa”(2017).

These two works are depictions of the two natures - mystery and curiosity - inside “Ousss,” a fictional space conceived by the artist.

The exhibition also features a large-scale installation work, which transforms the museum’s third floor into a space saturated with a fluorescent pink hue titled. Sixty drawings are hung along the room’s walls.

Admission is 5,000 won ($4.46) for adults. The art center is closed on Mondays. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 1 and walk for 10 minutes.

(02) 733-8945, www.artsonje.org

TOPOLOGY OF GENEROSITY

Barakat Seoul, Jongno District

To Nov. 26: The internationally-acclaimed Ghanaian artist El Anatsui’s first solo exhibition in Korea features three large-scale wall sculptures in the 73-year-old artist’s signature style, often dubbed metal tapestries.

Made of numerous small metal pieces gleaming in gold, the sculptures look magnificent but they are made mainly of used aluminum bottle caps crumpled and folded into square slices and bound together with copper wire.

The artist, who was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2015 Venice Biennale, has a studio in Nigeria, and has collaborated with local residents on his sculptures.

Admission is free. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 2, and walk 10 minutes.

(02) 730-1949, www.barakat.kr

TEARS OF CHIWEN

Arario Gallery Seoul, Jongno District

To Nov. 5: Sun Xun, an up-and-coming Chinese artist, presents 20 spectacular paintings of dashed-off brushstrokes in ink and mixed media and an animated film based on these ink drawings in his solo show. The exhibition is about the Chinese artist’s impressions of Korea’s history and culture during the period of modernization, Sun said.

“Chiwen’s tears result from the regret of lost traditions and the joy of new changes at the same time,” he told reporters.

“Chiwen” refers to small sculptures of a dragon or other monsters perched as decorations on the roofs of old Korean and Chinese buildings.

Admission is free. The gallery is closed on Monday. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 1, and walk for 10 minutes.

(02) 541-5701, www.arariogallery.com

KOREA ARTIST PRIZE

MMCA Seoul, Jongno District

To Feb. 18, 2018: It is an exhibition of the four artists nominated for the sixth “Korea Artist Prize,” granted by the museum and the SBS Foundation, since this year’s edition looks like a well-designed group exhibition under a specific theme rather than a competition. The 2017 finalists are Bek Hyunjin, Sunny Kim, Kelvin Kyungkun Park and Song Sanghee. All of them are quite different from one another in style and medium they use. But their works can be linked to create a story about the realities of Korean society as perceived by individuals.

The show starts with Kim’s paintings, which depict landscapes with bodies of water such as lakes and waterfalls or girls in school uniforms. Then, it leads to Bek’s installation work titled “UnemploymentBankruptcyDivorceDebtSuicide Rest Stop.” The next is Park’s installation and media work, which features 32 robots with rifles that uniformly move to the continuous sound of a loud bang, just like soldiers in training. The exhibition wraps with Song’s three-channel video work titled “Come Back Alive Baby.”

Admission is 4,000 won. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 1 and walk for 10 minutes.

(02) 3701-9500, www.mmca.go.kr