2016.1.13 MUSEUMS & GALLERIES
SKT UX HCI Lab, Jung District
To Saturday: The exhibition features 50 robots created by artists and engineers with support by Art Center Nabi, which has constantly focused on the fusion of art and new technology, in particular robots.
The visitors can interact with many of the robots on display. They include a soju-drinking robot and a robot that looks like a cute stuffed bear but, if spoken to, gives answers in a flirtatious, deep male voice.
Admission is free but advance reservations are required. Go to the Dongguk University subway station, line No. 3, exit 4, and walk for 10 minutes.
(02) 2121-1031, www.nabirobot.com
FRANK STELLA: RECENT SCULPTURE
Leeahn Gallery, Jongno District
To Jan. 30: The show features the recent sculptures by the renowned American artist Frank Stella, 79. Twelve of the 13 pieces now on view at Leeahn Gallery hang on the walls, showing their relation to Stella’s famous paintings related with the minimalist movement in the 20th century. They are part of the artist’s “Bali Pieces” series created between 2003 and 2009 and his “Scarlatti Sonata Kirkpatrick” series created since 2006. Each sculpture of the “Scarlatti” series, inspired by the 18th-century Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti’s sonatas, consists of a 3-D-printed body and rhythmically bent steel tubes.
Admission is free. Go to Gyeongbokgung Station, line No. 3, exit 3, and walk 7-8 minutes.
(02) 730-2243, www.leeahngallery.com
INVISIBLE LAND OF LOVE
MMCA Seoul, Jongno District
To Feb. 14: The solo exhibition of Ahn Kyuchul consists of the 60-year-old Korean artist’s eight recent pieces. It is the second edition of the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series sponsored by the auto giant.
Among the works, “Nine Goldfish” is a pond of concentric circles in which nine goldfish swim. The goldfish seem to be together but they can never meet one another, as each is nine separate concentric tracks.
Most of the other works on display also deal with isolation and lack of communication. “64 Rooms,” a structure divided into 64 small cells by dark blue velvet curtains, is “a labyrinth of voluntary desolation and absence,” as the artist said. But in some of the other works such as “1,000 Scribes,” such isolation leads to a higher level of communication.
Admission is 4,000 won ($3.30), which covers entrance to the other shows going on at the Seoul museum. The museum is closed on Mondays. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 1 and walk for 10 minutes.
(02) 3701-9500, www.mmca.go.kr
PRINT REBORN
Museum San, Wonju, Gangwon
To Feb. 28: The exhibition features modern and contemporary artwork created using old printing process methods - etchings, silk screens and lithographs, for instance.
The show consists of three sections. In the first section are presented works by 20 Korean contemporary artists. They include minimalist silk screen pieces by Koo Ja-hyun and elaborate etchings by Lee Young-ae. The third section features prints by famous Western artists like English sculptor Henry Moore and American pop artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
The most interesting is undoubtedly the second, “Reflecting the Times,” which features Japanese-style woodblock prints depicting old Korean people by Scottish artist Elizabeth Keith (1887-1956) and French artist Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960).
Admission is 15,000 won and covers the museum’s other exhibits except for the James Turrell Gallery. The museum is closed on Mondays and located inside the Hansol Oak Valley resort in Wonju, Gangwon.
(033) 730-9000, www.museumsan.org
THE BEAUTIFUL:
WOMEN IN PAINTINGS
Seoul Museum, Jongno District
To March 20: The exhibition features 40 portrait paintings of women by 26 well-known modern and contemporary artists. They include Kwon Ok-yeon, Kim Ki-chang and Jeong Myoung-Jo of Korea, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Marie Laurencin of France and Feng Zhengjie of China.
Among the highlights are the seven paintings by Chun Kyung-ja (1924-2015), a rare Korean female modern artist in her generation, who passed away at the age of 91 in late October.
Admission is 9,000 won for adults and includes admission to the other shows going on at the museum and to Seokpajeong, the summer residence of King Gojong’s father, behind the museum. The museum is closed on Mondays.
Take bus Nos. 1020, 1711, 7016, 7018, 7022 or 7212 to the Jahamun Tunnel stop.
(02) 395-0100, www.seoulmuseum.org
WORLD OF MYSTERY
Hangaram Art Museum of Seoul Arts
Center, Seocho District
To March 20: After a successful exhibition in 2012, the National Geographic is returning to Seoul with a large photo exhibit. This exhibition provides an overview of the history of civilization, but focuses on the journeys and adventures that have led to space and ocean discoveries. The collection, devoted to photographic records of such discoveries, consists of 200 items, including an exclusive display of the submersible craft used by National Geographic’s explorer-in-residence Sylvia Earle.
Admission is 13,000 for adults. The museum is closed on Jan. 25 and Feb. 29. Go to Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5 and walk for five minutes.
(02) 6263-2621, www.sac.or.kr
HUMAN IMAGE ?
THE BRITISH MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Hangaram Art Museum of Seoul Arts
Center, Seocho District
To March 20: The exhibition explores the many ways that humans have been depicted in the arts, from different centuries, regions and cultures, from the collection loaned by the British Museum. It features 176 pieces of art and artifacts.
As the exhibition’s scope is vast in terms of time and location, it features a wide range of objects, such as a skull coated with plaster that is about 8,000 years old - the oldest relic from the museum’s collection - and artifacts from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. It also includes an array of paintings and initial sketches by Rembrandt, Durer, Matisse and Picasso.
Admission is 15,000 won for adults. The museum is closed on Jan. 25 and Feb. 29. Go to Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5 and walk for five minutes.
(02) 724-6321, www.humanimage.co.kr
FLOWERS, BIRDS AND ANIMALS IN KOREAN PAINTING: EMBRACING NATURE
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Jung District
To March 27: The exhibition, Kansong Art Museum’s fifth show at the DDP, includes about 80 paintings of flowers, birds and animals from the museum’s collection. The paintings are by some of the biggest names in the Korean art world from the late Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) to the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). They include Shin Saimdang (1504-51); Yun Du-seo (1668-1715); Jeong Seon (1676-1759); Kim Hong-do(1745-1806); and Sin Yun-bok (1758-unknown).
One of the highlights is “Yellow Cat Romps Butterfly” by Kim. In the painting, a chubby, furry kitten, looking curious and mischievous, turning its head to gaze at a black butterfly. In ancient Korea, cats represented the age of 70 while butterflies stood for the age of 80. So, the painting could well have been a birthday present, wishing the recipient a long, healthy life.
Admission is 8,000 won. The venue is near exits 1 and 2 of Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station (line Nos. 2, 4 and 5).
(02) 2153-0000, www.ddp.or.kr or www.kansong.org
9 LIGHTS IN 9 ROOMS
D Museum, Yongsan District
To May 8: D Museum, a new branch of the Daelim Museum west of Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul, opened in early December.
The inaugural exhibition features lighting installation works by nine foreign artists and designers. In the second room is London-based Australian designer Flynn Talbot’s “Primary.” In the dark, light of changing primary colors is projected on a triangular sculpture covered with many smaller triangular pyramids. It creates numerous different abstract painting-like images, depending on the time and angle. And a piece by Russian visual-auditory art group Tundra, “My Whale,” is on display in the sixth room. It is a synaesthetic installation work featuring image and sound patterns that resonate together.
Admission is 8,000 won for adults. The museum is closed on Mondays. It is located at Dokseodang-ro 29-gil in Yongsan District, central Seoul.
(070) 5097-0020, www.daelimmuseum.org/dmuseum
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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