2013.8.13 MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

STUDIO GHIBLI LAYOUT DESIGNS

Hangaram Design Museum of Seoul Arts Center, Seocho District

To Sept. 22: As part of Hyundai Card’s culture project, the exhibition presents about 1,300 pieces of layout drawings from famous animated films such as “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Spirited Away” from Japan’s Studio Ghibli. Layout drawings are blueprints for the composition of each scene’s image in animated films. The layouts are in chronological order of the animation, starting from “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” (1984) to “From Up on Poppy Hill” (2011).

Admission is 15,000 won ($13.04) for adults.

The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., except on the last Monday of the month, on which the museum is closed.

Go to Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5 and walk for 10 minutes.

1688-6875, www.superseries.kr/4441

GAUGUIN AND AFTER: VOYAGE INTO THE MYTH

Seoul Museum of Art, Jung District

To Sept. 29: This is the first retrospective in Korea of Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), the legendary French Post-Impressionist artist. About 60 paintings, sculptures and wood prints are on display. Among them are several paintings considered to be especially important in Gauguin’s oeuvre, including “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?” that the artist intended to be his last word on his Tahiti period.

“The Yellow Christ” and “The Portrait of the Artist with the Yellow Christ,” which Gauguin made in his earlier Brittany period, are also on display side by side, giving the viewers a rare chance to see the two famous paintings, from different museums, together.

Admission is 13,000 won for adults. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. except on the first and third Tuesday of each month, when it’s open until 10 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Go to Seoul City Hall Station, line No. 2, exit 10 and walk for five minutes.

1588-2618, www.gauguin.kr

HOW TO MAKE A BOOK WITH STEIDL

Daelim Museum, Jongno District

To Oct. 6: The exhibition shows not only the famous art books by German publisher Gerhard Steidl, but also visualizes his work process with artists and writers through photos, designs and illustrations for the books.

Steidl has worked with Gunter Grass, Karl Lagerfeld and many others to create a book - or an artwork.

Tickets for adults are 5,000 won. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday. Go to Gyeongbokgung Station, line No. 3, exit 3 or 5 and walk for five minutes.

(02) 720-0667, www.daelimmuseum.org

TAKASHI IN SUPERFLAT WONDERLAND

Plateau, Jung District

To Dec. 8: This is the first retrospective of Takashi Murakami, one of the world’s hottest contemporary artists, in Korea.

The Japanese artist says his works are based on the subculture of otaku, a Japanese slang term that refers to an obsessive fan of adult comics and animations. The exhibit’s 39 pieces include paintings and sculptures of flowers innocently smiling in cartoon style, called the “Cosmos” series, and his sculptures of girls typically found in Japanese animations with baby faces and voluptuous bodies, called the “Miss Ko²” series. Under the concept “superflat” that he coined, the artist has combined Japan’s contemporary mass culture images with the country’s traditional art including Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, which look flat compared to old Western paintings intended to show a 3-D illusion.

Admission is 5,000 won for adults. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and is closed Monday. Go to City Hall Station, line No. 1 or 2, exit 8 and walk for five minutes.

1577-7595, www.plateau.or.kr

By Moon So-young