2017.4.17 Museums & Galleries

ONE’S EYES

JY Art, Jongno District

To April 19: The exhibition features 23 photographs taken by Lee Hyun-ju, who has been working at the National Museum of Korea as a public relations expert. For Lee, the museum has been her workplace for the past 26 years, but the scenes that caught her eyes there - like little sparrows chirping, children running, or bells hung at the eaves of traditional roofs - were anything but work for her.

She began taking photographs of scenes at the museum as a hobby, but her work has been garnering traction. She’s been sharing her photos on her Facebook account every day, and also in the museum’s monthly magazine for the past three years. She also captured how seasons change at the museum, focusing in particular on nature. “There is nothing fake about nature,” she said. “I like nature. I like people.”

Admission is free. JY Art is located near Exit 3 of Anguk Station, Line No. 3.

KIM BO HIE : ?BECOMING NATURE

Hakgojae Gallery, Jongno District

To Apr 30: The solo show of Korean artist Kim Bo Hie features 36 of her paintings that mainly depict green tropical plants.

Nineteen of the paintings on view at the gallery are the artist’s latest works. They depict close-up images of plants in vivid colors.

Sixteen of the paintings on view at the annex building, show tropical plants overlapped without a sense of distance between them, while reminding viewers of the French artist Henri Rousseau.

Admission is free. The gallery is closed on Monday. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 2, and walk 10 minutes.

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

SOFT MODERNISM

Gallery Hyundai, Jongno District

To May 7: The solo exhibition of Ryan Gander, a hot conceptual artist, features works of witty, quietly lyrical, and storytelling qualities.

The 41-year-old British artist’s work “I is…(xii)”, which looks like a chair covered with a white sheet but is actually a marble sculpture, and other small sculptures that depict a balloon and a dropped ice cream cone, show the source of imagination and sense of loss he experienced in his childhood.

In another series of his works including hairy sculptures based on Modern artist George Vantongerloo, the artist humorously distorts and re-writes art history.

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

(02) 2287-3500, www.galleryhyundai.com

SAMRAMANSANG: FROM KIM WHANKI TO YANG FUDONG

MMCA Seoul, Jongno District

To Aug. 13: In this exhibition, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art shows off 121 of the 932 artworks it acquired to add to its collection between 2013 and 2016.

In particular, the exhibits include Korean modern art master Kim Whanki’s abstract painting “Dawn #3” (1964-5), which the museum purchased at K Auction’s sale in September 2016 for 1.3 billion won ($1.14 million). It is the highest price the museum has ever paid for a single piece of artwork to add to its collection.

The exhibit title “Samramansang,” which means “all things and all phenomena in the universe,” was taken from a piece by Korean contemporary artist Kang Ikjoong, which is also among the exhibits.

Tickets cost 4,000 won. The museum is closed on Monday. The museum is a 10-minute walk from Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit No. 1.

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