In conjunction with the gallery exhibition ASH: Contemporary Korean Art & Ceramics, artist Park Jihyun speaks to the creative process and his technique of burning incense onto rice paper. Park also will discuss his professional and personal exploration of both traditional and contemporary cultures.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
5 PM
Asia Week 2012 Gallery Talk with Artist Park Jihyun
Explore Korea and Young Professionals’ Network members
attend this program for free with REGISTRATION
Kick off Asia Week New York 2012 (March 16-24) with the works of internationally recognized artists Park Jihyun and Lee Inchin. Using incense to burn thousands of tiny holes onto rice paper, Park practices reverse-pointillism, puncturing the paper’s fragile surface with tiny marks and thereby subtracting rather than adding dots of paint and color. Lee’s masterful employment of the traditional wood-firing kiln and ash yield ceramics with a spectrum of colors ranging from yellow to bright orange, red-brown to black. Lee’s ceramics and Park’s incense work harness the creative and destructive power of fire, smoke, and ash. Curated in cooperation with Jiyoung Koo and KooNewYork.
March 15-May 18, 2012
Gallery Opening
Thursday, March 15, 2012
6 PM
Kick off Asia Week New York 2012 (March 16-24) with the works of internationally recognized artists Park Jihyun and Lee Inchin. Using incense to burn thousands of tiny holes onto rice paper, Park practices reverse-pointillism, puncturing the paper’s fragile surface with tiny marks and thereby subtracting rather than adding dots of paint and color. Lee’s masterful employment of the traditional wood-firing kiln and ash yield ceramics with a spectrum of colors ranging from yellow to bright orange, red-brown to black. Lee’s ceramics and Park’s incense work harness the creative and destructive power of fire, smoke, and ash. Curated in cooperation with Jiyoung Koo and KooNewYork.
March 15-May 18, 2012
Gallery Opening
Thursday, March 15, 2012
6 PM
The Korea Society
950 Third Avenue@57th Street
Minhwa commonly refers to a genre of Korean folk art from the late Chosŏn era (17th–19th C.). Based on Shamanic, Buddhist, or Confucian themes, Minhwa, as a popular form, conveys freshness and vitality in a relaxed ambiance, in contrast with the more scholarly and stern Muninhwa-style favored by the yangban, or aristocratic, class. The use of vibrant primary colors and exaggerated painting styles were indicative of the taste of the middle-class, who wanted to imitate the yangban love of art, but with a touch of flamboyance. This workshop will offer instruction in crafting Minhwa motifs in ink and applying colored powders to create layered tones on mulberry paper.
Every Monday, September 12-October 3, 2011
6 PM-8 PM
Social Graphics: The Art of Jeski salutes the award-winning efforts of artist and social activist Jeseok Yi, who has wowed the design and non-profit communities with his thoughtful and often satirical works. Featuring fourteen of Korean-born Jeski’s works for organizations like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, World Vision, City Harvest New York, the American Disability Association and the Global Coalition for Peace, the exhibition provides sharp and insightful commentary on war, global warming, pollution, and other social concerns. Jeski stresses simplicity in messaging and encourages interaction between the design and the real world. His social graphics illustrate the power of creativity to inform, educate, and change society for the better. His efforts are a reminder of the vibrancy of Korean civil society, the strength of its NGOs, and Korea’s contribution to international efforts aimed at peace and social justice.
September 8-November 4, 2011
with Jeski
Artist and Social Activist
The Korea Society presents the writings of celebrated artist, poet, and philosopher Lee UFan, in conjunction with the Guggenheim Museum’s retrospective exhibition, Lee UFan: Marking Infinity (June 24-September 28, 2011). Born in Korea in 1936, Lee has been an artistic and intellectual force in Korea, Japan, and Europe for more than four decades, articulating a unique aesthetic and philosophical stance grounded in modernity critique and Post-Minimalist practice. Lee, the author of seventeen books, has written seminal essays on contemporary art, Asian culture, and democracy that offer a powerful voice to our current cultural discourse. The Korea Society’s summer exhibition will present photographs and work with Lee’s poetry, criticism, and essays.
During Korea’s drive for economic modernization, commercial artists created goods and advertisements that were visually appealing and richly detailed. After the war, Korea transformed itself economically, yet rapid growth was accompanied by dramatic social changes and political concerns surrounding authoritarianism. By the late 1980s, Korea had embraced democracy and a newly prosperous society clamored for fresh goods manufactured for domestic consumption. With the 1988 Olympic games, Korean products and adverts grew more global in orientation.
Koreans look upon these items with some nostalgia, as they stand in sharp and, at times, amusing contrast with today’s products, which range from remarkable paper-thin flatscreens to Motortrend’s Car of the Year. Presented with the support of the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, this exhibition features early consumer products, advertisements, and social commentary from a transitional and controversial era when the seeds of Korean design saw fertile ground.
ABOUT
This exhibition is the first in the United States to focus on items associated with Korea’s export-led growth era. It features products and designs from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, including Korea’s first domestically manufactured radio (the Goldstar A-501), Korea’s first black-and-white television (the VD-19), rice dispensers, cookers, and other kitchen items—even the popular “Italy towel,” employed in homes and bathhouses for a rigorous scrub.
Traditional Korean quilt technique requires keen attention to detail, patience, and dedication. With the arrival of the modern sewing machine, traditional quilting largely disappeared, yet master Kim Haeja remains steadfastly committed to the traditional ways of her craft. Designated Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 107 by the Korean government, Haeja Kim shares life’s lessons learned in the crafting of her quilts and textiles.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
6:30PM Gallery Talk and Q&A
Asia Week 2011 Gallery Talk
THREADING LIFE: A Lecture by Quilt Master Haeja Kim
with
Haeja Kim
Korean Traditional Quilt Artist, Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 107
The Korea Society
950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, 8th Floor
Richard Pegg, Asian art curator of Chicago’s MacLean Collection, examines Korean maps in a variety of formats, the challenges faced by cartographers, and the formation of multiple identities in Korea during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The MacLean Collection, housed in a private museum outside Chicago, focuses on the cultures of Korea, China, and Southeast Asia.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Asia Week 2011 Gallery Talk
Mapping Identity: Antiquarian Korean Maps of the MacLean Collection
In conjunction with the gallery exhibition 10,000 Threads, acclaimed author Spike Gillespie explores the diversity and common threads of quilting in Korea, its neighbors, and lands beyond. Gillespie takes the listener on a global journey of the art, approaches, and techniques of quilt making.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Asia Week 2011 Gallery Talk
10,000 Threads Around the World
with
Spike Gillespie
Author, Quilts Around the World: The Story of Quilting from Alabama to Zimbabwe
