Lotte Department Store Incheon Terminal Branch
Running through February 27
To welcome the new year, Lotte Department Store's Incheon Terminal Branch is presenting the <Embroidery Odyssey> exhibition, its first show of the year, running through February 27.
The exhibition was conceived around gilsang (auspicious symbols)—one of the principal themes of embroidery—to suit the new-year season, carrying the wish that visitors may begin a hopeful year ahead. Embroidery is an art form found in common across a wide range of cultures, not only in the East and West but also in the Middle East and Africa, and its history is believed to span more than 10,000 years. It generally began for the practical purpose of adding beauty to clothing and household goods, and developed into a craft art of stitching various patterns with colored thread.
Embroidery was traditionally defined as a woman's role—a task and duty to be learned and mastered. Yet in an era when women's participation in society was restricted, it was also the one world in which they were permitted to pass on knowledge and express themselves. As is the case with most craft arts, despite embroidery's vast history, the names of the artists who created these works were never clearly recorded.
However, as embroidery entered the realm of art and design education and began to be introduced into the public sphere of art exhibitions rather than remaining a household item, the names of embroidery masters started to become known, and today the field is gradually expanding into the domain of contemporary art.
The <Embroidery Odyssey> exhibition can be described as an epic of Korean embroidery, examining the development of the nation's embroidery culture in chronological order. It aims not only to widely introduce the beauty of the works and their diverse techniques, but also to shine a spotlight on the artists who are preserving embroidery culture. Through this exhibition, <Embroidery Odyssey>, we hope visitors will look back on the passion of the countless artists who devoted long hours of care for the sake of someone's wishes, learn patience and perseverance, and share in a precious moment of praying together for each person's own new-year hopes and aspirations. 032-242-2987
