Art in South Korea and by South Korean artists

Why did Kimsooja crisscross South Korea with her Bottari Truck?

Installations, Performances, Video Art / 3 minutes of reading
Kimsooja is a celebrated interdisciplinary artist who uses various artistic disciplines and mediums to weave a tale regarding concepts such as migration and cultural issues. Her work has been praised as giving center stage to these issues, and one of these renowned pieces is the Cities on the Move – 2727 Kilometres Bottari Truck, the …

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Dansaekhwa: Korean monochrome painting: Everything you need to know

Paintings, Sculptures / 6 minutes of reading
Dansaekhwa is an art movement born in South Korea in the 1970s. The pioneers of Dansaekhwa are born between 1913 and 1936 and avoided any reference to Western realism in their works, creating primarily monochrome and minimalist paintings. The artists also attempted to break away from the heritage of Japanese imperialism and Western abstraction. Dansaekhwa …

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Why did Nam June Paik create his TV garden?

Sculptures, Video Art / 3 minutes of reading
No one would think televisions are artistic under normal circumstances. Handy, yes. Useful, quite so. Nam June Paik, however, managed to put television sets in circumstances where he reveals their artistry. The celebrated artist is regarded as the father of video art and has manipulated television sets, broadcasted live performances and video installations to depict …

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Nam June Paik’s legendary Electronic Superhighway

Installations, Video Art / 3 minutes of reading
Electronic Superhighway is one of the most noted works of Korean Nam June Paik artist. It illustrates how he interpreted a diverse nation through media technology. The Electronic Superhighway is a large installation, constructed with 336 televisions, 50 VHS players, 3750 feet of cable, and 575 feet of multicolored neon tubing. Electronic Superhighway creates an …

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Yeesookyung’s ceramic vases: Imperfection & surprising results

Ceramics, Sculptures / 3 minutes of reading
Yeesookyung is a South Korean artist living in Seoul. She is known for her complex and enchanting ceramic designs and sculptures. Like many of her works, the Translated series series is made up of shards and fragments of broken ceramic pieces that are carefully pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. Yeesookyung created her Translated Vase …

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Who is Korean painter Sea Hyun Lee?

Paintings / 2 minutes of reading
South Korea’s traditional illustrative and art history is immovable; however, cultural and artistic experimentation will always be relentless. Sea Hyun Lee demonstrates his understanding of just how true the above statement is through his art. He manages to join the two forces of past and present together to create Between the Red. Sea Hyun Lee …

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Gimhongsok mocks Jeff Koons highest priced work using garbage bags

Sculptures / 2 minutes of reading
This Canine Construction by South Korean artist, Gimhongsok is one that anyone would fall in love with, coupled with the enigmatic quality it has. This work is the sculpture of a dog and remains one of the artist’s most well-known works in recent times. The creation involved using garbage bags, balloons, cardboard boxes, all assembled …

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Meekyoung Shin’s beautiful sculptures – Made entirely from soap

Sculptures, Statues / 2 minutes of reading
Meekyoung Shin, a South Korean sculptor, became popular for her Translation series, using soap as her medium of art. Trained in the tradition of European sculpture, her statuettes are made factoring in the Western and Eastern styles of relief. Her works are usually made from palm oil, a vegetarian soap. The free-standing ancient Greek sculptures …

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Daesung Lee’s photography – 75% of Mongolia might turn into a desert

Photography / 2 minutes of reading
Daesung Lee’s Futuristic Archeology project deals with the nomadic people of Mongolia. Although Mongolia has seen increasing modernization and urbanization in recent decades, approximately 35% of Mongolians still live a traditional nomadic lifestyle, thus depending on the vast land and their relationship with the land to survive. However, environmental changes have put their way of …

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Cayetano Ferrer’s optical illusion billboard in South Korea

Installations, Photography / 1 minute of reading
Cayetano Ferrer’s describes his works like this: My work ends up being the result of the question: what exactly is an illusion? Is everything we see on a screen or a printed photograph an illusion? Is culture implicated in illusion? Can language itself be an illusion? All images by Cayetano Ferrer unless otherwise noted.