2012.12.26 MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

2012 HONGIK INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL

Hongik University, Mapo District

Daehangno Art Center, Jongno District

To tomorrow: Hongik, one of Korea’s most prestigious universities for fine arts, design and art theory, is holding a large-scale festival to celebrate the opening of its new art center on Daehangno Street in central Seoul.

The festival, with 900 pieces by 550 artists ranging from renowned veterans to up-and-coming students, will take place at both the new art center and the main campus.

The art center will host exhibits of works by professors and students of Hongik University as well as artists affiliated with six universities in China and Japan.

The Hongik University Museum on the main campus will be the site of a small-scale show of beloved early 20th-century Korean masters, including Lee Jung-seob (1916-56).

Admission is free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. To get to the university’s main campus, go to Hongik Univ. Station, line No. 2, exit No. 9 and walk for 10 minutes.

(02) 320-3272

2012 SEOUL PHOTO FESTIVAL

Seoul Museum of Art’s main building near Deoksu Palace; its branch building near Gyeonghui Palace; Seoul City Hall; and other venues in the capital

To Sunday: The third edition of this annual photo exhibition is being held by the Seoul Metropolitan Government under the theme of “Village Community and Photo Archives” at a total of 23 venues across the capital.

The main exhibition, divided into two parts, will be held at the Seoul Museum of Art’s main building.

Part one will feature 250 photos by 21 photojournalists and fine-art photographers that show both the past and present of Seoul.

Part two of the main exhibition will feature 500 submissions of historic shots of Seoul.

Admission is free. Exhibits will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. The closing time will be shortened to 6 p.m. on weekends.

070-8240-9902,

www.seoulphotofestival.com

TONY OURSLER: OXT VARIATIONS

313 Art Project, Gangnam District

To Sunday: This is the first-ever solo show of the well-known multimedia artist Tony Oursler in Korea.

The American artist is best known for sculptures on which distorted and expressive human faces or parts of such facial features are animated through video projection. Also involving human voices, such sculptures make an ominous ambience.

The exhibition features one large-scale installation work that includes sculptures combined with vide projection and sounds in Oursler’s signature style. The show also has small-scale sculptures with video projections and a series of paintings with moving images in them.

Admission is free. The gallery is open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.

Go to Apgujeong Station, line No. 3, Exit 3 and walk 15 minutes.

(02) 3446-3137, www.313artproject.com

ART OF PAINTING

Hakgojae, Jongno District

To Sunday: This exhibition features five painters - Chung Sue-jin, Hong Kyoung Tack, Lee Dongi, Nam Kyung-min and Seo Sang-ik - to prove how paintings are still relevant in an era of digital photography and other new media. The participating artists are in their late 30s or early 40s.

Seo says that paintings “can deliver the senses felt and remembered by bodies through the images that are ambiguous, unbalanced or cracked.” He will display paintings that realistically depict partly surrealistic scenes in mundane everyday settings.

Nam’s paintings depict interiors of bright colors in which famous paintings by old masters or modern artists are hanging.

In particular, Lee and Hong, who are well-known pop artists, will display paintings that deviate from their signature styles at this show.

Admission is free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 2, and walk 10 minutes.

(02) 720-1524~6, www.hakgojae.com

MUSEI VATICANI

Hangaram Art Museum of Seoul Arts Center, Seocho District

To March 31: This exhibition features some 70 pieces, including paintings and sculptures from the collections of the Vatican Museums.

Most of the exhibits are works by Italian Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque painters.

They include “St. Jerome in the Wilderness,” an unfinished painting by the famous High Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci, and “Charity,” a panel illustration by another High Renaissance master, Raphael.

They also include “The Annunciation” by Mannerist painter Giuseppe Cesari.

Admission is 15,000 won ($13.75) for adults.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The closing time will be extended to 8 p.m. in March. The museum is closed on the last Monday of each month.

Go to Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5 and walk five minutes.

1544-8755, www.museivaticani.co.kr

By Moon So-young