2014.3.12 MUSEUMS & GALLERIES
Published: 11 Mar. 2014, 20:34
Gana Insa Art Center, Jongno District
To Sunday: This is a retrospective of Park Soo-keun (1914-65), one of Korea’s most beloved modern artists, to celebrate the 100th year of his birth. It is the largest-ever exhibition of the painter, according to Gana Art. About 120 works by Park, including oils, watercolors and drawings, will be on display.
Among the paintings being shown is the famous “Washing Place,” the most expensive Korean painting ever sold at a local art auction.
Admission is 10,000 won ($9.38) for adults. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the closing time has been extended to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit No. 6 and walk for five minutes.
(02) 736-1020, www.insaartcenter.com
JESUS AND THE DEAF SHEEP
Seoul Museum, Jongno District
To Sunday: Why not paint Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Apostles in hanbok (Korean traditional clothing), with Korean appearances in Korean settings? That’s what Kim Ki-chang (1914-2001), one of the most important artists in Korean modern art history, did. Kim, better known by his pen name Unbo, made 30 paintings in 1952, amid the 1950-53 Korean War, in the traditional East-Asian style that depict the life of Christ from the Annunciation to the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
The museum is exhibiting them with an additional 30 paintings by Unbo to honor the 100th birthday of Unbo, which is this year.
Admission is 9,000 won for adults and covers admission to Seokpajeong, a hanok (traditional Korean house) behind the museum that was once the summer residence of King Gojong’s father.
Hours are from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday. Take bus Nos. 1020, 1711, 7016, 7018, 7022 or 7212 to the Jahamun Tunnel stop.
(02) 395-0100, www.seoulmuseum.org
Leeum, Yongsan District
To March 23: This is a solo show of the renowned artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, 65, whose monochrome photography has combined “conceptual thinking and formalistic simplicity” for more than four decades.
The exhibition includes not only his famous photographic series “Theaters” and “Portraits” but also conceptual sculptures and a video based on his “Sea of Buddhas” series. A total of 49 of his works are on display.
Sugimoto has been more of a conceptual artist than a photographer. He uses photography for his philosophical questions, such as whether photography is the most authentic tool for representing reality and recording history, as we believe.
These concepts are particularly explored in his “Portraits” series, which was commissioned by Deutsche Guggenheim in 1999, and his “Dioramas” series, which he started in 1975, among the works on display.
Admission is 7,000 won for adults. A day pass that includes admission to the permanent exhibition is 13,000 won. Hours are from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday.
Go to Hangangjin Station, line No. 6, exit 1 and walk five minutes.
(02) 2014-6900, www.leeum.org
KANG YO-BAE:
DRAWINGS 1985-2014
Hakgojae Gallery, Jongno District
To March 30: This solo show of veteran painter Kang Yo-bae features his drawings over the last 30 years. The 53 drawings include landscapes of Mount Kumgang, which he made during a visit to North Korea in the late 1990s. Among the exhibits are also drawings of Dol Hareubang, the large statues made from volcanic rock found in various parts of Jeju Island, where the 62-year-old painter was born and is now based.
Admission is free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday. The exhibit is closed on Mondays. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 2, and walk 10 minutes.
(02) 720-1524-6, www.hakgojae.com.
Arario Gallery Seoul, Jongno District
To April 13: This is a solo show of the young sculptor Inbai Kim. He presents 15 sculptures and installations that break away from conventional forms of sculptures, depicting human figures as well as conventional ideas. The sculptures have sometimes humorous nuances and sometimes sublime tinges. This is also the first exhibition held at Arario Gallery Seoul since its relocation from Cheongdam-dong in the city’s south to the art zone east of Gyeongbok Palace.
Admission is free. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and closed on Mondays. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 2, and walk 10 minutes.
(02) 541-5701, www.arariogallery.com
Seoul Museum of Art, Jung District
To May 18: This is a group exhibition of three female Korean artists based in foreign countries - Min Yong-soon, Yoon Jin-me and Jo Sook-Jin.
This exhibition “will show how the artists confronted the world and themselves, who, being part of a diaspora, could not belong anywhere but belong everywhere as nobodies,” the museum said.
According to the museum, Min, who is based in Los Angeles, deals with the issue of identity experienced by her and her parents’ generation. Yoon, who is based in Vancouver, Canada, creates works that inquire into the problem of place and identity in a post-colonial aspect. Jo, based in New York, presents works made of abandoned wood.
The museum also has regular exhibitions named “SEMA Blue,” “SEMA Gold” and “SEMA Green,” which focus on relatively young artists (in their 30s and 40s), middle-aged (in their 50s and 60s) and older artists, respectively.
Admission is free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays.
Go to Seoul City Hall Station, line No. 2, exit 10 and walk five minutes.
(02) 2124-8800, sema.seoul.go.kr
By Moon So-young
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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