Huge exhibitions vie for summer art lovers

Korea's culture industry has never been better, it seems, especially in the art field. Galleries big and small are jam-packed with art lovers and there's no shortage of great shows to see.

Four exhibitions stand out particularly among the summer line-up for their enormous scale. They are the two recently opened historical exhibitions at the National Museum of Korea and Korea University Museum, and the "The Worlds of Nam June Paik" and Korea's largest-ever Russian art exhibition, both scheduled to open in July.

The following are previews of what art lovers can expect at these shows.

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"A Pleasant Encounter With Recently Acquired Works" In 1997, at the famous international auction house Sotheby's, a mysterious buyer purchased a valuable Choson period Buddhist painting, "Gathering of Four Buddhas," for $720,000. No one knew who bought the piece, but Koreans openly hoped that the buyer was Korean.

The owner turned out to be none other than the National Museum of Korea. The museum will now unveil for the first time this rare piece, along with 210 other treasures from the 2,892-piece collection it has amassed over the last 12 years.

The works to be displayed include pottery (47 pieces), precious metal crafts (30), prehistoric artwork (30), wooden crafts (22), Buddhist sculptures (15) and paintings (40), as well as 11 foreign treasures, including tricolor ceramic sculptures from the Chinese Tang dynasty and Buddha statues found in Gandhara, Pakistan. Six of the works are national treasures Aside from the "Gathering of Four Buddhas," highlights of the exhibition include Korea's first printed copy of "Tripitaka," a 30-volume collection of Buddhist scriptures from the 11th century, and an elegant gilt sarirah bottle inlaid with lotus flowers dating back to the 12th century.

The show runs through June 4 at the National Museum of Korea. Call 02-398-5052 for more information.

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"20th Century Korean Fine Arts in 2000: 200 Masterpieces" This show brings together 200 of the most representational modern western paintings by leading Korean artists, making it the standout group exhibition of the year in this genre.

The works include Park Soo-keun's "Peach," a work celebrated for its masterful use of thick mixtures of reds, yellows and greens; Lee joong-sup's "Flowers and Yellow Children;" and Kim Hwan-ki's "Wolkang," whose estimated worth of 390 million won makes it Korea's most valuable artwork.

These works are the pride of Korea University Museum's 1,000-piece collection, whose assembly was made possible through the school's vigorous 66-year effort to gather famous modern paintings. Each work in the show was carefully chosen for its artistic value and historical significance, the exhibition's curator said.

Other featured artists include Kim Kyu-jin, Kim Eun-ho, No Soo-hyon, Lee Sang-bum, Byon Kwan-shik, Lee Eung-ro and Jang Woo-sung. All the works were created between 1919 and 1999.

The ongoing exhibition continues through June 30 and can also be seen on the Internet at http://kulib.korea.ac.kr:8088. Call 02-3290-1511~2 for more information.

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"Russia, Life and Art of the Millennium" Opening on July 1 at the Toksu Palace branch of the National Museum of Contemporary Art near City Hall,, the exhibition will be the largest-ever display of Russian art in Korea.

The exhibition will showcase a total of 500 icons and relics of the Romanov Dynasty and famous cultural figures as well as a wealth of pictures by modern and contemporary Russian artists, most of which have never been shown here before.

"We've already completed working-level consultations with Russia in our efforts to bring these artworks to Seoul, and we're well on our way to achieving our goal," said one of the exhibition organizers. Lotte Hotel has reportedly agreed to spend 5 billion won to finance the exhibition.

This show has additional significance in that it is being organized as part of celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Russia, the curator said.

After its 3-month run in Seoul, the show will travel to Kwangju, Taegu and Pusan to give as many Koreans as possible the chance to see it.

Call 02-779-5310~2 for further information.

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"The Worlds of Nam June Paik" Starting in mid-July and continuing for three months, Korea's most famous artist, Paik Nam-june, will hold an exhibition in Seoul of the same works shown earlier this year in his highly publicized show at New York's Guggenheim Museum.

The show will feature Paik's newest focus genre, laser art, for the first time in Korea. The Guggenheim exhibition was highly celebrated in the United States, where the artist is regarded as one of the world's few living artistic geniuses.

As a retrospective exhibition, the show will feature about 40 major works that have helped define Paik's 40-year career, including sculptures, installations, videotapes and projects for television.

Paik's laser art, however, will be the centerpiece of the show. Among the selections are "Jacob's Ladder," a spectacular site-specific installation that incorporates two laser projections, one cast on the ceiling and the other creating a "waterfall" cascading from the top of the museum.

"We're currently in discussions with the Guggenheim Museum on ways of exhibiting the works," the Samsung Culture Foundation said. The show will be held at the Ho-Am Art Museum and the Rodin Gallery.   <Kim Mi-hui Staff reporter, Korea Herald >