USC Pacific Asia Museum

46 North Los Robles Avenue
Pasadena, California 91101
Open Wednesday through Sunday 10am to 6pm

EXHIBITION

The Arts of Korea

Choi Seok-hwan (1808 - ?), Grapevine [Mook Podo-do], Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), late 19th century, Ink on paper, Museum Purchase with Funds Provided by the Collectors’ Circle, 2012.3.1

Opens October 5, 2012
In the new Gallery of Korean Art

Press Release [PDF:88KB]
Exhibition Brochure [PDF: 1.29MB]

USC Pacific Asia Museum will open a new Korean Gallery on October 4, 2012 as part of its continued renovation and reinterpretation of the permanent collection galleries. The Korean Gallery will not only have a new, larger location within the museum’s galleries, but will also benefit from a thematic approach that will put a larger number of objects on view from the museum’s permanent collection of Korean art.

Moving from its previous location in the north wing, the Korean Gallery will be in the Everett and Peg Palmer Founder’s Gallery between the Angelyn and Ralph Riffenburg Gallery of Chinese Art and the Frank and Toshie Mosher Gallery of Japanese Art, enabling the visitor to move through the museum in a more unified way, with the entire south wing dedicated to the arts of East Asia. The inaugural exhibition The Arts of Korea will introduce the history and techniques of Korean paintings, textiles, ceramics and other art forms through thematic displays, audio tours and interactive components. One section of the gallery will feature objects grouped according to three different belief systems—Buddhism, Confucianism and Shamanism. These objects will demonstrate their connections to those traditions as well as their broader historical significance. Additional contextual information for some of the works will be provided by various audio and visual aids. A second section of the gallery will examine how contemporary Korean artists draw inspiration from tradition and maintain dynamic connections with centuries of Korean artistic heritage. In a region with the largest Korean metropolitan community in the U.S., it is essential for USC Pacific Asia Museum to share the breath and depth of the Korean arts to execute our mission of furthering intercultural understanding through the arts. The new Korean Gallery will make Korean art and culture more meaningful both to those who have never studied it before and to those who are already familiar with it.

Major support for the Korean Gallery renovation is provided by the Korea Foundation and the Pasadena Community Foundation.

Additional funding for the Korean Gallery renovation project provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission and the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division, Mi Ryu Ahn, Mike and Sookie Garrison, Eunhak Bae and Robert Kwak, and Sangphil Nam.

Special thanks to media sponsor KPCC.