Korean Art Society Events

All events are canceled due to the pandemic. We lo​ok forward to resuming our events soon. Thank you for your support.
Please click here to register for any of these free events. 
Events
Annual Tour of the Newark Museum's Korean Art Collection
January 7th at 12 noon

Just 30 minutes from Midtown Manhattan, there is a beautiful collection of Korean art featuring a renowned collection of folk paintings and fine ceramics, including a famous maebyong vase that has been in the museum's collection for over a hundred years. Please join us for a tour of the collection in one of the first Korean galleries in an American museum. We will also tour the exhibitions, Red Luster: Lacquer and Leatherworks of Asia, and The Global Art of Patchwork. Both of these exhibitions include the artwork of Korea. Please also join us for lunch and lively conversation in the museum cafe.

 

Heavenly Bliss at the Philadelphia Museum
February 17th at 12 noon

The Philadelphia Museum's Curator of Korean Art, Hyunsoo Woo will lead us on a tour of the exhibition, Heavenly Bliss. This is an
exhibition of beautiful Korean works of art that have the afterlife as their theme. This promises to be a unique and thought-provoking
exhibition. We have timed our visit to coincide with the exhibition, Van Gogh Up Close, which will feature works from Van Gogh's final years.

 

Tour of Korean Collections in Los Angeles Museums
March 16th and 17th
We will visit the Pacific Asia Museum (PAM) in Pasadena and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in LA. On March 16th, PAM's Curator of Korean Art, Yeonsoo Chee will guide us on a tour of the exhibition, Auspicious Beauty: Korean Folk Painting. In addition, she has generously agreed to bring out from storage, for our private viewing pleasure, their famous complete collection of Paul Jacoulet woodblock prints of people and scenes from Korea and other parts of Asia. Jacoulet is widely regarded as one of the greatest 20th Century woodblock print artists. He grew up in Asia in the early 20th Century, and his mother was married in Korea. We will also tour PAM's Korean gallery. While we're in Pasadena, we'll also tour the Norton Simon Museum's Asian art galleries. On  March 17th, LACMA's Curator of Korean Art, Stephen Little, will guide us on a tour of their new Korean gallery, and he will treat us to a private viewing of some amazing masterpieces from LACMA's storage area. LACMA has one of the finest collections of Korean art in the world outside of Korea. 

Tour of the Metropolitan Museum's Korean Gallery
April 28th at 11:00 am


Tour of Korean Collections in Washington, D.C. Museums
May 22nd and 23rd

We have planned for you an exciting tour of Korean art collections in Washington, D.C., with privileged access to some of the rarest and finest Korean art and artifacts in America. On May 22nd, The Smithsonian's Curator for Ceramics, Louise Cort will lead us on a tour of the museum's Korean gallery and the exhibition, Cranes and Clouds: The Korean Art of Ceramic Inlay, featuring a fine collection of ornately designed Korean ceramics. In addition, she will treat us to a private viewing of rare and fine Korean objects in the museum's storage area. Also on May 22nd,  the Freer Gallery's Associate Director Keith Wilson will guide us through the exhibition, Goryeo Buddhist Paintings: A Closer Look.There are only 150 Goryeo Buddhist paintings in the world. This is the first time that the museum is displaying all three of their Goryeo Buddhist paintings together. In this exhibition, the paintings are joined by photographic details taken by Buddhist painting specialist Chung Woothak, which show the masterly brushwork and superimposed
patterns. The photographs also reveal the materials and techniques that typify this special type of Buddhist icon. 


On May 23rd, we will tour the National Museum of Natural History's Korean gallery, featuring rare objects from the Bernadou, Allen, and Jouy collections, some of the first collections of Korean art and artifacts in America. After lunch at the museum, we will be treated to a private viewing of very rare Korean arms and armor in the museum's storage area. The National Museum of Natural History has the only collection of Korean arms and armor outside of Korea. In another storage area of the museum, we will view 19th Century genre paintings along with some of the earliest photographs taken in Korea.This is a rare opportunity to enjoy private viewings of some of the best Korean art  and artifacts in America, in the fine company of your fellow art lovers. As always, the Korean Art Society charges no fee for this event. You need only pay for your transportation and hotel room. 

 

Rare and Important Korean Paintings in the Brooklyn Museum Storage Rooms
June 6th at 10:00 am

We are pleased to announce this first-ever private storage room viewing focused on the Brooklyn Museum's collection of rare and important Korean paintings. None of these paintings have ever been viewed in our previous Brooklyn Museum events. The museum's Asian galleries will close for renovations until 2015, so this could be your last chance to participate in a Korean Art Society event at the Brooklyn Museum for a long time, so please don't miss out. They will also bring out of storage, just for us, their beautiful and rare Joseon Dynasty funerary palanquin. The Brooklyn Museum has been collecting Korean art for over 100 years, and was the first museum to open a permanent Korean gallery. But much of the museum's collection is in storage and is rarely on view. So please don't miss out on this rare opportunity to view and discuss, in the company of the curators and your fellow art lovers, beautiful paintings that bring Korea's history and culture to life. After the storage room viewings, you have the option of joining us for lunch in the beautiful Brooklyn Botanic Garden next to the museum. After lunch, we will tour the museum's Korean gallery.
 

The Lee Young Hee Museum of Korean Culture
July 21st at 3:30 pm

You're really missing out if you haven't seen the fine collection in this museum. Their collection of hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) is unmatched. In addition to antique and contemporary hanbok, you will see Korean furnishings, ornaments, and much more. We'll be generously treated to a private tour by Director Jong Suk Sung. We'll have dinner after the tour in one of the many fine Korean restaurants in Korea Town. 


Korean Masterpieces in the Mary Burke Collection
 August 1st at 11:00 am. 

The Mary Griggs Burke Collection, one of the largest and finest private collections of Asian art, has been exhibited at New York's Metropolitan Museum and other major museums. The Asia Society once had an exhibition based on a single very important early Korean Buddhist painting from this collection. The Korean Art Society is very fortunate to be invited to Ms. Burke's Manhattan home to view rare and famous masterpieces in Korean sculpture, painting, and ceramics.


Korean Masterpieces in the Brooklyn Museum Storage Rooms
September 20th at 10:00 am

We are excited to announce an event that we have been planning for three years, a storage room tour of the Best of the Brooklyn Museum's Korean Collection. We began our Brooklyn Museum storage room tours three years ago, and we have seen over 100 rare and beautiful Korean works of art in five tours, without ever repeating a single item from the comprehensive collection. Our final event on September 20th will feature the best of the items that we have viewed in our five previous tours.


The museum's Asian galleries will close for renovations  until the end of 2014. This will be your last chance to participate in a Korean  Art Society event at the Brooklyn Museum for a long time, so please  don't miss out.  After the storage room tour, you have the option of joining us for lunch in the beautiful Brooklyn Botanic Garden next to the museum. After  lunch, we will enjoy a final farewell tour of the museum's old Korean gallery, the first Korean gallery in America. Emotions will be mixed, as we prepare to welcome a new and larger Korean gallery in a few years, and as we say goodbye to the old Korean gallery that holds many great memories for many of us. The Brooklyn Museum has been collecting Korean art for over 100 years, but much of the museum's collection is in storage and is rarely on view. So please don't miss out on this rare opportunity to view and discuss, in the company of your fellow art lovers, rare and beautiful Korean art that brings Korea's history and cultre to life.

Tour of Korean Contemporary Art Galleries in New York
October 6th at 1:30 pm

You may be surprised to learn of the number and variety of galleries in New York that sell contemporary Korean art. This promises to be an exciting and eye-opening tour.

Tour of the Korean Art Society Library
November 10th at 1:30 pm

The Korean Art Society Library is the world's largest lending library of books on Korean art. We have many rare books that are almost impossible to find, and we have complete collections of various journals and periodicals on Korean culture, such as Koreana and Korean Culture. Our collection also includes hundreds of Korean art auction catalogs from both Korea and America, including a complete collection of every catalog from every auction of Korean art that has ever taken place in America. This tour is designed to familiarize you with the library's collection and cataloging system, and to encourage you to borrow books from this extensive library.


The Lee Young Hee Museum of Korean Culture
December 1st at 4:00 pm

 You're really missing out if you haven't seen the fine collection in this museum. Their collection of hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) is unmatched. In addition to antique and contemporary hanbok, you will see Korean furnishings, ornaments, and much more. We'll be generously treated to a private tour by Director Jong Suk Sung. We'll have dinner after the tour in one of the many fine Korean restaurants in Korea Town.