The Easel

10th December 2024

Art Institute of Chicago opens its first gallery devoted solely to Korean art

When Samsung’s chairman died in 2020 his “vast” art collection was donated to the nation. That donation, in part, has fuelled loans to a new Korean gallery in Chicago. Its opening show includes contemporary works, but the “showstoppers” are older pieces dating back to the 5th century BCE (discussed here). Besides Buddhist art, the ceramic works show the transition from earthy “buncheong” stoneware to Goryoe celadon and, later, refined white porcelain. Move over K-pop!

3rd December 2024

Trace Ed Hardy’s global influence on tattoo design, roots in San Francisco with this timeline

Sceptical about tattoos being art? Well, consider the career of prominent American tattooist Ed Hardy. After graduating from art school he switched to tattooing, drawn by its ”spectacularly transgressive” spirit. His appointment-only tattoo shop offered custom designs influenced by his long study of finely detailed, semi-abstract Japanese tattooing. Says one writer, Hardy’s lasting contribution was to take “tradition-bound Americana and transmute it into something more artistic”.