The recent rise of interest in Korean culture and art has led to a growing number of Korean art galleries in museums all across America. A few decades ago, Korean art was relatively unknown in the United States, compared to Japanese and Chinese art. However, continuous effort from the Korea Foundation, the Korean government, and countless art collectors has led to the prominence of Korean art in major U.S. art institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

The Korea Foundation, which primarily supported establishment of the Smithsonian¡¯s Korean Gallery, believes the beauty and uniqueness of Korean art will increase awareness of Korea, fostering better understanding between the two countries. The Korea Foundation plans to support the opening of additional Korean art galleries in Minnesota and Illinois. Today, 26 major Korean art collections (and one in nearby Ontario, Canada) are fascinating Americans across the United States.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Museum Information
Address: 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street New York, New York 10028-0198
Phone: +1 212 535 7710
Home page : www.metmuseum.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1998
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 48
- Installation Support : Korea Foundation/Samsung Foundation of Culture
Curator: Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 400
See the Korean vestiges in this museum

Outline
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is known as one of the three greatest museums of the world, drawing over 5.5 million annual visitors since its foundation 120 years ago. In June 1998, The Korea Foundation and The Samsung Foundation of Culture for Korean Art supported the opening of the Arts of Korea Gallery. Since its foundation the gallery has flourished to boast a permanent collection of 400 pieces of Korean artifacts. Objects from the Museum¡¯s permanent collection include Buddhist paintings and ceramics of the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties and sculptures, metalwork and lacquer wares spanning 1,500 years. In addition, the gallery includes a thematic exhibition featuring pieces loaned from collections all over the world to provide a comprehensive overview of Korea¡¯s artistic and cultural heritage.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art(LACMA)

Museum Information
Address: 5905 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: +1 323 857 6000
Fax : +1 323 932 5813
Home page : www.lacma.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1978(1999)
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 22(56)
- Installation Support : Korea Foundation
Curator: Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 764

The L.A. County Museum (LACMA) is one of the largest museums in the Western United States, boasting a recently renovated Korean gallery. The Korean gallery at the LACMA was reopened in October 1999 after being expanded to twice its original size. The opening exhibition included 250 additional pieces of priceless Korean artifacts. The museum¡¯s Korean art collection originally started with the donation of a group of Korean ceramics in 1966 by Park Chung-hee, then president of the Republic of Korea. The addition of Korean paintings as well as printed books followed. At present, the LACMA gallery is closed pending its relocation.

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Museum Information
Address: 200 Larkin Street San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: +1 415 581 3500
Fax : +1 415 581 4700
Home page : www.asianart.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1991(2003)
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 46(80)
- Installation Support : Korea Foundation
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 700

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco was first established in Golden Gate Park in June 1966 with a mission to lead a diverse global audience in discovering the unique material, aesthetic, and intellectual achievements of Asian art and culture. In 1989, the museum opened the first Korean Art Department in a non-Asian region and became the only museum in America to have a Korean art curator solely dedicated to managing Korean artifacts. Later, through the support of the Korea Foundation and the local Korean community, the Korean gallery was established, now spaning 250 square meters in the new museum.

The Korean gallery hall is divided into three sections representing three different eras in Korean history. The collection includes Goryeo dynasty celadon pieces and rare unglazed stoneware from the Three Kingdoms period and Unified Silla period. The paintings encompass several styles: courtly, scholarly, Buddhist, and folk. Superb examples of lacquer wares and textiles complete the collection of assorted mediums of Korean traditional art.

Peabody Essex Museum

Museum Information
Address: East India Square Salem, MA 01970-3783
Phone: +1 978 745 9500
Fax : +1 978 744 6776
Home page : www.pem.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 2003.6
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 78
- Installation Support : Korea Foundation
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 250

The Peabody Essex Museum was the first institution in America to collect art from Korea. Founded in the 1880¡¯s, the Korean gallery in the museum was named the Yu Kil-Chun Gallery of Korean Art and Culture after a member of the first official delegation from Korea to the United States who presented gifts to start the collection. The gallery was expanded to about 258 square meters in 2003. Today its collection features a broad spectrum of art of the late Joseon dynasty, including eight-panel screens used at court and a beautifully carved and painted beehive sculpture from an aristocratic household. The collection is deemed by Korean scholars to be the best of its kind in the United States and is the only foreign collection to have been exhibited at the National Museum in Seoul.

Portland Art Museum

Museum Information
Address: 1219 SW Park Avenue Portland, OR 97205
Phone: +1 503 226 2811
Fax : +1 503 226 4842
Home page : www.pam.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1997
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 28
- Installation Support : Korea Foundation
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 132

The Portland Art Museum has about 33,000 pieces displaying international art and culture. The curator of Asian Art Donald Jenkins initiated the museum¡¯s interest in Korean art in 1988. Following the curator¡¯s proposal, various donations allowed the museum to purchase highly significant Korean works which include an impressive ash-glazed Silla storage jar. The subsequent years featured a steady growth in the collection. Finally in 1997, the Korean Gallery opened featuring more than 130 pieces of Korean art.

Seattle Asian Art Museum

Museum Information
Address: Volunteer Park1400 East Prospect Street Seattle, WA 98112-3303
Phone: +1 206 654 3100
Fax : +1 206 654 3191
Home page : www.seattleartmuseum.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1992(1994)
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 19(40)
- Installation Support : Korea Foundation
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 220

The Seattle Asian Art Museum boasts large collections of Asian art featuring more than 23,000 objects. In 1994, the Korean Gallery area was expanded to about 132 square meters, which was more than double its original size. The Korean collection consists of 220 objects, which include folding screens, celadon pieces, and early stoneware ceramics.

Honolulu Academy of Arts

Museum Information
Address: 900 South Beretania Street Honolulu, Hawaii 96814-1495
Phone: +1 808 532 8700
Fax : +1 808 532 6081
Home page : www.honoluluacademy
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1960(2001)
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 14(28)
- Installation Support : Korea Foundation
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 803

Honolulu Academy of Art features multicultural collections of both Western and Asian Art. Housing one of the few collections of Korean porcelain in America, the Korean gallery at the Honolulu Academy of Arts first opened in 1960, and for nearly 40 years it continued to display many Korean artifacts. The growing number of artifacts, however, outgrew the original 50 square meters allotted for the gallery, so from 1998, the Korean gallery temporarily closed its doors for renovation.

On June 17, 2001, with the support from the Korea Foundation, the Korean gallery reopened featuring a new exhibition hall spanning 90 square meters. The Academy currently uses the new space to alternately display its 803 pieces of Korean art, which includes porcelain pieces dating from the Silla period to the late Joseon period and the paintings purchased by the museum in the last few years.

Birmingham Museum of Art

Museum Information
Address: 2000 Eighth Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama, 35203-2278
Phone: +1 205 254 2566
Fax : +1 205 254 2714/2710
Home page : www.artsbma.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1993(2002)
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 21
- Installation Support : Korea Foundation/ Birmingham City
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 140

The Birmingham Museum of Art is the only museum in the southern region of America that runs an independent Korean gallery. Established in 1951, in Birmingham, Alabama, the Birmingham Museum of Art led the way of introducing Korean culture and art in the American South, including holding a special exhibition of Korean art, hosting Korea-related cultural events, setting up the Korean artifacts exhibition corners and opening the independent Korean hall. With the support from the Korea Foundation and the Birmingham City, the museum was able to reopen the newly renovated Korean gallery on March 22, 2002.

The gallery features beautiful traditional Korean architecture, which creates the mood of being in a traditional Korean temple or a palace. A fitting space for the museum¡¯s priceless Korean artifacts, which included outstanding ceramics from the Three Kingdoms period through contemporary wares, important Buddhist sculptures from the Three Kingdoms period and the Unified Silla dynasty, Joseon dynasty paintings, metalwork, furniture, and other decorative arts, the new hall has become the most popular exhibit hall among all the visitors of the museum.

Royal Ontario Museum

Museum Information
Address: 100 Queens Park Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6
Phone: +1-416-586-5549
Fax : +1-416-586-5877
Home page : www.rom.on.ca
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1999(2005)
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 48
- Installation Support : Korea Foundation
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 730

The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada was able to open the Korean Gallery to the public in 1999, with the support from the Korea Foundation and repoend it after remodling the whole Museum building in 2005. About 370 various objects that introduce Korean history, culture and art are displayed, using state of the art exhibit techniques. The collection includes in Three Kingdoms period, in Unified Silla, Calligraphy by Song si-yol in chosun

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, University of Oregon

Museum Information
Address: 1223 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403-1223
Phone: +1 541 346 3027
Fax : +1 541 346 0976
Home page : jsma.uoregon.edu
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 2005
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 38
- Installation Support : Seungsan Inc., Korea Foundation
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 320

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Oregon University has been praised internationally for its Korean collection. The Korean Gallery of the museum, extended and reopened in 2002 with support from Seungsan Inc. and the Korea Foundation and houses about 320 objects from the Korean collection. This growing collection includes traditional costumes and accessories, ceramics, paintings and bronze works

The CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART

Museum Information
Address: 11150 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA
Phone: 1-216-421-7340
Fax : 1-216-421-0411
Home page : : www.clevelandart.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: New gallery to be opened in 2011
- Installation Year :
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) :
- Installation Support :
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 330
See the Korean vestiges in this museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is internationally renowned as the steward of one of the finest Asian collections in America. Its Korean collection consists of about 330 artifacts, a comparatively small yet outstanding collection of individual works of the highest quality. The collection¡¯s strengths include Buddhist sculptures of the Unified Silla period, paintings of the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties, and metalwork and pottery of successive periods. As the CMA undergoes its most comprehensive renovation and construction project, it is poised to highlight these great works of art as never before. A reconsideration of display and interpretation practices in the new Korean art gallery will enhance the visitor¡¯s aesthetic experiences of the collection, offering a better understanding of Korea¡¯s artistic and cultural heritage.

Museum of Fine Art, Boston

Museum Information
Address: Avenue of the Arts 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115-5523
Phone: +1 617 267 9300
Fax : +1 617 492 1829
Home page : www.mfa.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1982
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 33
- Installation Support :
Curator: Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 1100

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is one of the four largest museums in the world. It is known for its long tradition and outstanding collections. The Korean Gallery in the museum was opened in 1982, spanning about 109 square meters, displaying 1100 objects from Korea. The Korean art collection in the MFA is one of the few important museum collections in the Western world. The collection includes high-quality stoneware and lacquer ware of the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties, Buddhist paintings and sculptures, and Bronze Age funerary objects. After the post-war era, the museum experienced great growth in the areas of Chinese and Korean ceramics, and the collection continues to grow over the years.

Freer Gallery of Art

Museum Information
Address: P.O. Box 37012, MRC 707 Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Phone: +1 202 633 4880
Fax : +1 202 357 4911
Home page : www.asia.si.edu

Korean Historical Vestiges

Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1993
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 27
- Installation Support :
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 780

The Freer Gallery of Art houses world-renowned collections of art from China, Japan, Korea, and South and Southeast Asia. The gallery opened in 1987 thanks to the donations from Dr. Arthur M. Sackler. During the last twenty years of Dr. Sackler¡¯s life the gallery acquired nearly 500 pieces of Korean art, including approximately 130 Goryeo and 80 Joseon ceramic pieces. Today the Freer Gallery houses 780 pieces of Korean art in a space that is about 90 square meters in size.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Museum Information
Address: Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 26th Street Philadelphia, PA 19130
Phone: +1 215 763 8100
Fax : +1 215 235 0052
Home page : www.philamuseum.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1992
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 13
- Installation Support :
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 200

The Philadelphia Museum has Asian collections ranging from 3000 B.C. to modern times. It opened the Korean Gallery, which displayed nearly 200 objects of Korean art spanning about 43 square meters in 1992. The Korean collection includes , of Goryeo dynasty and the late Joseon furniture, paintings, ceramics, sculpture and more.

Brooklyn Museum of Art

Museum Information
Address: 200 Eastern Parkway Brooklyn, NY 11238
Phone: +1 718 638 5000
Fax : +1 718 501 6136
Home page : www.brooklynmuseum.org

Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1974
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 28
- Installation Support :
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 450

Brooklyn Museum was established in 1896 to display 1,500,000 objects in a beautiful building that was recognized as one of the national historical sites. This museum is the first museum in the New York City area that opened a Korean Gallery. The Korean Gallery of the Brooklyn Museum was founded in 1974 spanning about 92.5 square meters. Currently, the Korean Gallery exhibits about 450 pieces.

The Korean Collection, made possible by donations and purchases through the past 100 years, shows every important category of Korean art, including painting, ceramics and art craft from pre-historic period to modern times. The Brooklyn Museum¡¯s presentation of its Korean collection emphasizes Korea¡¯s unique traditions, culture and aesthetics. One of the works in the collection is donated by the Underwood family. Furthermore, the collection contains an outstanding series of furniture and folk.

Dayton Art Institute

Museum Information
Address: 456 Belmonte Park North Dayton, Ohio 45406
Phone: +1 937 223 5277
Fax : +1 937 223 3140
Home page : www.daytonartinstitute.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1997
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 19
- Installation Support :
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 50

The Dayton Art Institute collection includes fine arts and crafts of Oceania, Asia and America. The collection, focusing on the porcelain, increased rapidly through the years, thanks to the donators of the local community. The Korean gallery, which was installed in 1997, displays its Korean artifacts in a space that is about 62 square meters.

Denver Art Museum

Museum Information
Address: 100 West 14th Ave Parkway Denver, Colorado 80204
Phone: +1 720 865 5000
Fax : +1 720 913 0001
Home page : www.denverartmuseum.org

Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1971
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 14
- Installation Support :
Curator:
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 340

Founded in 1893, the Denver Art Museum displays over 60,000 works of international art. It features an internationally renowned collection of American Indian art and an outstanding collection of Spanish Colonial art. Established in 1971, the Korean Gallery in the museum displays more than 347 pieces of Korean traditional art, featuring paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, metalwork, furniture, and household furnishings, including a woman¡¯s comb chest with Buddhist inscription. Examples of Korean art are also on display in the Buddhist Art Gallery and the Scholar¡¯s Tradition Gallery in the museum

Detroit Institute of Art

Museum Information
Address: 5200 Woodward Avenue Detroit, Michigan 48202
Phone: +1 313 833 7900
Fax : +1 313 833 2357
Home page : www.dia.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1986(1996)
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 24
- Installation Support :
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 83

Since 1927, The Detroit Institute of Arts has evolved into a museum of arts, housing a wide range of collections from Chinese art to Contemporary American art. Representing the works of an extraordinarily wide range of cultures and civilizations from antiquity to the present, the collection includes 4000-year-old statue of Gudea of Lagash from Mesopotamia/Babylon and the monumental Head of Buddha from Korea. The Korean Gallery was established in 1986 in the institute and was enlarged in 1996 to display about 63 objects of Korean art.

Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami

Museum Information
Address: Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami 1301 Stanford Drive Coral Gables, Florida 33124-6310
Phone: +1 305 284 3535
Fax : +1 305 284 3535
Home page : www.miami.edu/lowe/
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Korean Gallery
- Installation Year : 1997
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) :
- Installation Support :
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 60


Since its foundation in 1950, the Lowe Art Museum has been dedicated to serve the local residents and visitors as the major art museum in greater Miami. The museum boasts 13,000 objects in its collection, including Renaissance, Baroque, American, Ancient and Native American, and Asian art. The museum¡¯s Asian collection was built over twenty years with superb Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ceramics, paintings, and sculptures. The Korean gallery was founded in 1997, and now exhibits about 60 pieces of Korean art.

American Museum of Natural History

Museum Information
Address: Central Park West at 79th Street New York, NY 10024
Phone: +1 212 313 7278
Home page : www.amnh.org
Korean Historical Vestiges

Display: Corner of Korean Art
- Installation Year : 1980(2001)
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) :
- Installation Support :
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 1,000

The American Museum of Natural History was established in 1869 by the City of New York for researching and distributing the progress of natural science. The museum exhibits more than 500,000 objects, including artifacts from the past and current cultures around the world. Objects exhibited range from prehistoric stone tools excavated from Mongolia to baskets crafted in Senegal in the year 2000. Over 1,067 objects from Korea were introduced in a section called the corner of Korea since 1980. The Corner was newly renovated in 2001.

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art

Museum Information
Address: Cornell University Central & University Aves.Ithaca, NY 14853-4001
Phone: +1 607 255 6464
Fax : +1 607 255 9940
Home page : www.museum.cornell.edu
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Corner of Korean Art
- Installation Year : 1973
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 5
- Installation Support :
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 431

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art houses Cornell¡¯s art collection, which was founded in the 1880¡¯s by Cornell¡¯s first president, Andrew Dickson White. The George and Mary Rockwell Galleries on the Museum¡¯s fifth floor feature outstanding works from China, Japan, India, and many other Asian nations and cultures. The collection includes everything from ancient artifacts to modern graphic art. The Korean Gallery in the museum was established in 1997 and currently exhibits about 60 objects.

Bishop Museum

Museum Information
Address: 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
Phone: +1 808 847 3511
Fax : +1 808 841 8968
Home page : www.bishopmuseum.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Corner of Korean Art
- Installation Year : 1969
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) :
- Installation Support :
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 246

The Bishop Museum¡¯s Ethnology Collection includes more than 70,000 objects from throughout the Pacific region. Furthermore, photographs and detailed information are available for more than 1000 cultural objects. 246 objects of Korean art, including Korean traditional clothes and ornaments has been exhibited in the museum in a space designated ¡®a corner of Korean art,¡¯ consisting of 6 showcases since 1969.

Wing Luke Asian Museum

Museum Information
Address: 407 Seventh Ave South Seattle, Wa 98104
Phone: +1 206 623 5124
Fax : +1 206 623 4559
Home page : www.wingluke.org

Display: Corner of Korean Art
- Installation Year : 1987
- Gallery Size (Pyeong/1Pyeong=3.3058§³) : 2
- Installation Support :
Curator:
Korean Vestige Holdings (Estimate): 50

The Wing Luke Asian Museum in the Washington University Museum has a Korean collection with 50 objects of Korea displayed in 6.6 square meters of gallery space. Another permanent exhibition that includes some Korean objects is ¡°One Song, Many Voices¡±. This exhibition depicts the 200-year-old story of the immigration and settlement of Asians and Pacific Islanders in Washington State, from the first Hawaiian settlers to more recent refugees from Southeast Asia. ¡°One Song, Many Voices¡± includes 10 Asian Pacific American groups: Cambodians, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Laotians, Pacific Islanders, South Asians, Southeast Asian hill tribes and Vietnamese. The exhibition is the only one of its kind in the nation to integrate their many different experiences into a cohesive story of courage, determination and success.

Another exhibition called ¡°Portrait of Community¡± depicts Seattle¡¯s Chinatown-International District. It is the only area in the United States where Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, African Americans, Koreans, Vietnamese and Cambodians settled together and built one neighborhood. This outdoor exhibition introduces visitor to the neighborhood, capturing the history of the area from its origins in the early 1900s to the present day.

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington

Museum Information
Address: Box 353010, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-3010
Phone: +1 206 543 5590
Fax : +1 206 685 3039
Home page : www.washington.edu/burkemuseum
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Corner of Korean Art
- Installation Year : 1997

The Burke Museum¡¯s Ethnology Collection includes objects of cultural heritage from living cultures of the Americas, the Pacific Islands, and Asia. Pacific Rim collections from throughout Asia and the Pacific Islands include nearly 15,000 items including kava bowls, porcelain, dance masks, and samurai armor. The corner of Korean art in the museum was founded in 1997.

Pacific Asia Museum

Museum Information
46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena California 91101
Phone: +1 (626)449-2742
Home page : www.pacificasiamuseum.org
Korean Historical Vestiges
Display: Corner of Korean Art
- Installation Year : 1997

The Pacific Asia Museum is one of only four institutions in the United States dedicated exclusively to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands. The museum¡¯s mission is to further cultural awareness and understanding through the arts. This compelling exhibition brings together some of the finest contemporary Korean ceramics in one of the largest surveys of works to come to North America. From the Fire assembles Korean ceramic artists whose pieces blend traditional techniques with new influences and innovative methods to create both functional and sculptural works. The works, dating from the 1990s through 2003, reveal the adventurous spirit of Korea¡¯s ceramic tradition developed through thousands of years. Tradition is the undercurrent that shapes most of the issues and dialogue in contemporary Korean ceramics.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is the largest cultural institution in the state of Texas. With the opening of the ¡°Arts of Korea Gallery,¡± the museum is placing new emphasis on Korea and thus becomes one of a handful of museums outside of this country to showcase Korea¡¯s ancient culture. The new Korean gallery itself is part of an ongoing commitment by the MFAH to Asian art. Over the next two years, the Asian collection will be relocated and reinstalled on the first floor of the main building, in a space that is quadruple the area of the previous galleries. Next in line is a gallery for the art of Indonesia that will open in spring 2008. The Arts of Southeast Asia and India Gallery is scheduled to open in December 2008, along with galleries devoted to Chinese and Japanese art being opened in 2009. In addition to the expansion of floor space, the MFAH is dedicating additional resources to the acquisition of new works in all areas of Asian art.



Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Museum information
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404
(888) MIA ARTS (642-2787)

Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Department of Asian Arts has benefited greatly from generous gifts from knowledgeable collectors. Augustus L. Searle, Alfred F. Pillsbury, Richard P. Gale, Louis W. Hill, Jr., and Ruth and Bruce Dayton have donated specialized collections of international reputation, including ancient Chinese bronzes, ancient and post-Sung jade, Chinese monochrome ceramics, Ukiyo-e paintings, Japanese prints, and classical Chinese furniture.

To follow up department's goal which is to provide the public with a broad overview of Asian art, In 1998 the museum presented new Indian, Islamic, Himalayan, Southeast Asian, and Korean permanent collections, Korean exhibition includes potteries and folk relics. Minnesota's love affair with Asian art began as early as 1878 when the American designer and interior decorator John S. Bradstreet helped organize one of the Minneapolis' first Asian art exhibitions.

Held in the Brigham House, the show displayed mostly European oil paintings and watercolors, but also featured an "Oriental" room with Asian works of art. Following the Arts and Crafts Movement's mania for things Asian, Bradstreet traveled regularly to China, Japan, and Korea, bringing back a wide range of art objects, including sculpture, ceramics, woodblock prints, bronze altar vessels, and architectural elements.

by Yuna Kim