Exhibitions
ASH: Contemporary Korean Art & Ceramics by Park Jihyun & Lee Inchin
Thursday, March 15, 2012 | 6:00 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…
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Social Graphics: The Art of Jeski
Thursday, September 8, 2011 | 6:00 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…
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The Writings of Lee UFan
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 | 6:00 PM
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…
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Selling Happiness: 1960s-80s Consumer Design in Korea
Thursday, April 7, 2011 | 6:00 PM
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…
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10,000 Threads: The Collected Works of Quilt Master Kim Haeja
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 | 6:00 PM
February 22—March 31, 2011 Traditional Korean quilting, with its unique “nubi” line-stitching, is elevated to a high art under the masterful hands of award-winning artisan Haeja Kim. A designated holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property award by the Korean government for her efforts at preserving Korea’s artistic heritage, Kim meticulously line-stitches layers of batting and fabric into fine garments and coverings. The tiny stitches are employed over each article…
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Korean Architecture and Design in Convergent Flux
Friday, December 10, 2010 | 6:00 PM
New York City’s first cross-disciplinary exhibition of Korean architecture, landscape design, and urban planning celebrates both globalizing and hybridized conditions in contemporary Korean society. In cooperation with Harvard Graduate School of Design. Tuesday, December 7, 2010 5 PM | Members Preview 6 PM | Public Reception
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Through Eastern Windows: Prints by Elizabeth Keith and Traditional Korean Hats
Thursday, October 14, 2010 | 6:00 PM
Elizabeth Keith, an intrepid traveler and visionary artist, first ventured to Asia almost a century ago, where she filled travel journals with lively, realistic sketches of Korea and other destinations. At the encouragement of a Japanese publisher, she translated her sketches and watercolors into etchings and woodblock prints. As author of Eastern Windows (1928) and Old Korea (1946), Keith sought to capture a “vanishing Korea,” and her work remains especially…
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Steel Helmets: U.S. Korean War Graphics & Korean War in Color
Friday, June 25, 2010 | 6:00 PM
The Korea Society marks the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War with two exhibitions running June 25 through September 10: Steel Helmets: U.S. Korean War Graphics and Korean War in Color. Both open six decades to the day of the outbreak of conflict. Steel Helmets: U.S. Korean War Graphics features twenty-eight framed graphics—eighteen Korean War film posters and ten comics—from the era. With images ranging from the…
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Masks of Night: Faces from Traditional Korean Dance-Dramas
Thursday, March 4, 2010 | 7:28 PM
Koreans expressed their passion and fear through masked dance for hundreds of years. The dance-drama dates back to shamanic ritual aimed at warding off malevolent spirits and grew into a form of popular entertainment that poked fun at the establishment.March 4—April 25, 2010 Free and Open to the Public. The Korea Society Gallery950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, 8th Floor (Building entrance on SW corner of Third Avenue and 57th…
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Talismans of Protection from Chosŏn Korea: Antique Locks, Latches and Key Charms
Thursday, October 8, 2009 | 6:00 PM
Shown for the first time in the United States, the collection features a rare collection of locks, latches and key charms, from the Chosŏn Dynasty (1392-1910), beautifully designed metal and wood objects executed in myriad shapes. This exhibition features a rare collection of locks, latches and key charms, from the Chosŏn Dynasty (1392-1910). The items reveal the richly symbolic and exquisitely decorative dimensions of traditional Korean aesthetic and craft traditions.…
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