The Kumho group opened Kumho Gallery in Gwanhun-dong, Seoul in 1989 to discover and nurture local artists and dedicate to the enhancement of our art culture through exhibitions of capable rising and established artists and projects to give an overview of art of our time. In November of 1996 to mark the seventh anniversary of its opening the gallery expanded its facilities and moved to a new building in Sagan-dong, renamed the Kumho Museum of Art.
Since its inauguration, the Kumho Museum of Art has planned and presented a variety of exhibitions to diagnose the flow of contemporary art. The museum’s exhibitions have put focus on overall aspects of Korean art’s development rather than any specific tendency and genre. Through the exhibitions that have primarily addressed main issues in contemporary art and representative artists dealing with such issues, the museum has offered an overview of the stream of contemporary art and provided viewers with an opportunity to experience multifarious aesthetic value.
The museum has designed exhibitions of great diversity including international art shows like Joan Miro; exhibitions taking a view of the stream of contemporary art such as Formative Art of the 1980s and The Development of Korean Modernism; a show associating art with music like Music in Art; an exhibition projected for the new millennium like History(2nd Volume); art shows for children such as Pop Art-Who Are You and Chihwaseon, Meet with Paintings; and Propose 7, an exhibition held in collaboration with the National Art Studio Changdong and Goyang.
The museum has extended the sphere of visual arts through constantly held design and architecture exhibits such as the first one, Utopia-the Evolution of an Idea in 2008, Design, Collection, Flea Market, and Kitchen and Design of 20th Century.
The museum has concentrated on discovering and supporting innovative, competent young artists through its annual competition program, Kumho Young Artist, since 2005 and fostering creative activities through an artist-in-residence program at the Kumho Art Studio in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. The museum has also made efforts to broaden the general public’s understanding of culture and art through regular educational programs and programs connected to its exhibits.
The Kumho Museum of Art is located in Sagan-dong, a cultural and artistic hub of Seoul where tradition is in chime with modernity. Gyeongbokgung (Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven), the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea Seoul branch, the National Folk Museum of Korea, and diverse galleries flock together in this area.
The museum moved from Gwanhun-dong to Sagan-dong in 1996, to the new museum building designed by Kim Tae-su, a Korean-American architect who had designed the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Gwacheon and LG Chem Research Institute buildings.
This exquisite building intimates the architect’s careful consideration to make it be in accord with its surrounding scenes including Gyeongbokgung’s stone wall through a repetition of squares made of granite. The façade’s exterior wall finished with granite in same color with the palace’s stone wall and the windows with strip patterns in dark color on the top of the building are naturally orchestrated with the palace’s stone wall they are facing with. The triangle windows protruded from the one side of the building lend rhythm and interest to the building. Its interior is also embodying the space faithful to the fundamental concept of the museum for works of art.