Seoul Auction aims to revive market with first-ever 'Evening Sale'

Seoul Auction will hold its largest auction block in 17 years as a breakthrough for the sluggish art market. The two-day auction from Nov. 24 to 25 will feature artworks valued at 29 billion won ($20 million) in total. The first auction event, “Evening Sale: Eternal Emotion,” on Nov. 24 will put 26 masterpieces by modern and contemporary artists up for sale, with combined starting prices totaling 27 billion won. It is the first time Seoul Auction has held a dedicated auction for masterpieces. “A

Nov. 16, 2025

Gyeongju National Museum extends six gold crowns exhibition to next year

Gyeongju National Museum will extend its exhibition of six gold crowns from the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-AD 935) to next year, following the overwhelming public interest and record-breaking attendance, the national museum announced Thursday. The exhibition “Silla Gold Crowns: Power and Prestige,” organized to coincide with APEC 2025 and originally set to run until Dec.14, will now run through Feb. 22. The museum has seen long queues forming every morning for the first-ever exhibition showing all six

Nov. 13, 2025

From impressionism to early modernism: Robert Lehman Collection arrives in Korea

In 1969, American banker Robert Lehman bequeathed 2,600 works to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with the belief that "important works of art, privately owned, should be beyond one's own private enjoyment and the public at large should be afforded some means of seeing them." The Robert Lehman Collection, acquired over the course of 60 years by Robert Lehman and his parents Philip and Carrie Lehman, is one of the more significant examples of 20th-century American collecting. The donati

Nov. 13, 2025

In cycle of demolition, what remains of Korea's modern architecture?

Redevelopment and reconstruction have long defined the rhythm of urban life in South Korea, spurred by rapid industrial growth and the demands of capitalism. Little space has been left to reflect on how the legacy of Korea’s modern architecture is preserved or remembered. Kimm Jong-soung and Kim Chung-up are considered pioneering modern Korean architects, along with Kim Soo-guen, but few would be able to answer with examples of what these architects built. A culture of archiving modern architect

Nov. 12, 2025

Othoniel’s poetic journey across Avignon connects art, history and the infinite

Korea Herald correspondent AVIGNON, France — Upon entering Calvet Museum in Avignon, France, a stainless-steel lotus installation can immediately be spotted resting quietly in the courtyard. Stepping closer, you might begin to contemplate infinity as you find yourself endlessly reflected in the mirrored beads alongside reflections of the beads themselves and the surrounding landscape. “You see yourself thousands of times, and you see the piece also reflected by itself,” French artist Jean-Michel

Nov. 10, 2025

Kim Deok-han explores new depth through lacquer, time

In traditional East Asian painting, when ink is applied to hanji, Korean mulberry paper, it seeps into the fibers, becoming one with the paper itself. Lacquer artist Kim Deok-han’s works embody a similar principle in his own material language. Even with multiple layers of lacquer, they do not build up, but coalesce into a single, unified surface. The sense of unity is achieved through repeated sanding of the layers with sandpaper. “You can touch it here, if you would like. I layered black, yell

Nov. 7, 2025

Photo exhibition, art in garden and pink playground

Nodeul Island sits in an unlikely spot -- smack in the middle of the Han River, beneath the bridge linking Yongsan in the north and Noryangjin in the south. This compact artificial island opened in 2019 as a music complex, packing exhibition halls, performance spaces and art galleries into its small frame. Through Nov. 11, Sony's "One and Only" exhibition fills one of the island's galleries with work from three Sony Partners artists alongside 100 user-submitted photos from the MyAlpha365 contest

Nov. 7, 2025

Korean contemporary art takes center stage in Paris

Korea Herald correspondent PARIS, France — An exhibition presented at the Korean Cultural Center in Paris offers a rare glimpse into the history of Korean modern and contemporary art built over the past seven decades. “Colors of Korea: Spotlight on Korean Contemporary Art,” which opened on Oct. 22, coinciding with Art Basel Paris, shows works by 34 Korean artists and was organized in commemoration of the 140th anniversary of Korea-France diplomatic relations next year. “We began the exhibition w

Nov. 6, 2025

Pritzker-winning Riken Yamamoto warns Seoul faces crisis without new housing vision

Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2024, warns that Seoul's future is in jeopardy if its record-low birth rate persists — a crisis he believes is deeply tied to how the city conceives of and inhabits housing. “Many of the fundamental problems stem from housing. Because housing, at its core, is about how we choose to live,” Yamamoto said during an interview with a group of reporters at Seoul City Hall this September. The Japanese architect, who has com

Nov. 3, 2025

Gyeongju National Museum to limit visitor numbers to Silla gold crowns exhibition

The Gyeongju National Museum will limit the number of daily visitors to an unprecedented exhibition showing six gold crowns discovered in the royal tombs of the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-AD 935) in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. "Silla Gold Crowns: Power and Prestige,” organized to coincide with APEC 2025, opened to the public Sunday, with a long line forming outside before the museum opened at 10 a.m. The state museum announced Sunday that the number of visitors would be limited to 2,550 per d

Nov. 3, 2025