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MMCA Seoul, Jongno District
To May 22: 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. But in some of the other works such as the audience-participation performance project “1,000 Scribes,” such isolation leads to a higher level of communication.
Admission is 4,000 won ($3.50), which covers entrance to the other shows going on at the Seoul museum. The museum is closed on Monday. Go to Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 1 and walk for 10 minutes.
(02) 3701-9500, www.mmca.go.kr
FROM THE SIDEWALK TO CATWALK
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Jung District
To June 30: The exhibition is a retrospective of French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, famous for avant-garde styles including the iconic “cone bra” he created for music star Madonna in 1990.
The show features over 150 haute couture pieces as well as some ready-to-wear clothes he designed since his career began in 1976, including his latest creations inspired by Korean traditional clothes or hanbok.
The exhibition has been touring around the world since 2011.
Admission is 15,000 won. The venue is near exits 1 and 2 of Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station (line Nos. 2, 4, and 5). www.superseries.kr
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Plateau, Jung District
To Aug. 14: The exhibition features 12 pieces of works by Chinese artist Liu Wei ranging from his controversial early works to his most recent works. The 44-year-old is one of the leading artists in the generation next to the famous “Chinese Diaspora” and “Political Pop” generations under the influence of the 1989 Tiananmen protests.
“Liu Wei’s works, created from materials such as architectural debris and old books through labor-intensive handcrafting, examine the dystopic cities of China, and more broadly Asia, as sites of endless urban development,” said Ahn Soyeon, curator of the exhibition and deputy director of Plateau.
The exhibition will be the last exhibition at Plateau, a branch of the Samsung Museum of Art, as the branch is located in the Samsung Life building that will close after a 17-year history due to the sale of the building.
Admission is free. The museum is closed on Mondays. Go to City Hall Station, line No. 2, exit 8.
(02) 1577-7595, www.plateau.or.kr
WRAP AROUND THE TIME
Nam June Paik Art Center,
Yongin, Gyeonggi
To July 3: In memory of Nam June Paik (1932-2006), the Korean-born founder of video art, who passed away 10 years ago, the museum has invited 10 local and foreign curators from outside the museum. They include those whose jobs are not originally art curators such as a scientist, a novelist and a linguist.
Each of those 10 curators, along with the head of the museum, Suh Jin-suk, selected inspirational pieces from among the museum’s collection of Paik’s works. And then they each invited artists to create a new piece inspired by the Paik’s work, or an already created related work. The results comprise the exhibits. The works by Paik are on display on the first floor of the museum, and on the second floor are the works inspired by them.
Admission is 4,000 won. The museum is closed on Mondays. Take bus Nos. 5000 or 5005 from Seoul and get off at the Singal five-way intersection in Yongin.
(031) 201-8500, www.njpartcenter.kr
THE MAN IS GONE AND
THE ART HAS REMAINED
Whanki Museum, Jongno District
To Aug. 14.: The large-scale retrospective of the modern Korean master Kim Whanki (1913-74) features 400 paintings, drawings and collages by the artist.
Among the exhibits are a lot of abstract drawings and oil paintings on newspaper that show the artist’s continued experimentation and transition into pure abstract figuration. The result was Kim’s collection of dot paintings, which are now celebrated both by art critics and collectors. Dot paintings are also among the exhibits.
Admission is 10,000 won for adults. The museum is closed on Mondays. From Gyeongbokgung Station, line No. 3, exit 3, take Green Bus No. 1020 or 7212 and get off at the Buam-dong Resident Center stop.
(02) 391-7701, www.whankimuseum.org
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PAINTINGS: SCENES OF EVERYDAY LIFE, IDEALS AND RECREATION
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Jung District
To Aug. 28: The daily lives of both commoners and scholars spanning 500 years during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) can be witnessed in this exhibition - the Kansong Art Museum’s sixth show at the DDP.
About 80 genre and figure paintings by 33 famous Joseon artists, including Kim Hong-do, a versatile court painter famous for a wide variety of paintings, and Shin Yun-bok, famous for paintings of women.
The exhibits also include some contemporary artworks. Media artist Lee Lee-nam recreated Kim Hong-do’s painting “Hearing a Birdsong on Horseback” as a work of media art that even includes the sounds of birds chipping.
Admission is 8,000 won. The gallery is closed on Mondays. Go to Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station, line Nos. 2, 4 and 5, exits 1 and 2.
(02) 2153-0000, www.ddp.or.kr or www.kansong.org
GANA ART COLLECTION ANTHOLOGY
Seoul Museum of Art, Jung District
For an indefinite period: The exhibition celebrates the opening of a permanent exhibition room for a group of artworks donated by Gana Art, one of the nation’s leading galleries, to the municipal museum in 2001.
The donation, called the Gana Collection, consists of 200 paintings, sculptures and prints by 48 local artists related with the minjung art movement of the 1980s and early ’90s. The movement is represented by realist paintings with strong political or social messages against the Korean military regime of the ’80s and later conservative politics.
The inaugural exhibition features 28 works by 24 famous minjung artists including Lim Ok-sang, Shin Hak-chul and Hwang Jae-hyung.
Admission is free. The museum is closed on Mondays. Go to Seoul City Hall Station, line No. 2, exit 10 and walk for five minutes.
(02) 2124-8800, sema.seoul.go.kr
HORIM MASTERPIECE 100
Horim Art Center, Gangnam District
For an indefinite period: Horim Museum is home to some 15,000 artifacts, including eight state-designated National Treasures, 52 Treasures and 11 city-designated cultural properties. The museum’s Sinsa-dong branch, named Horim Art Center, in November launched a new permanent exhibition that lets people enjoy these ancient Korean masterpieces.
The show includes three national treasures including the “White Porcelain Lidded Jar with Plum and Bamboo Design in Underglaze Cobalt Blue” (National Treasure No. 222) and 19 treasures including “Gilt-Bronze Standing Sakyamuni Buddha at Birth” (Treasure No. 808). Exhibits at the show will partially change every six months.
Admission costs 8,000 won. The museum is closed on Sundays. Take bus Nos. 145 , 440 or 4212 and get off at the Horim Art Center stop.
(02) 541-3523~5, www.horimartcenter.org