Sabina Art Museum Hosts Costume Art Exchange in China... 17 Contemporary Korean Artists Participate

Korea-China Costume Art Exchange Exhibition
at Wu Culture Museum Until January 25, 2026

Sabina Art Museum announced on November 3 that it will hold the Korea-China Costume Art Exchange Exhibition, "Clothing Becomes Art," at the National Wu Culture Museum in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, until January 25 next year.

Exhibition hall view. Courtesy of Sabina Art Museum

This exhibition is part of the 2025 Harmony Festival, co-hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Shanghai and the Suzhou Wu Culture Museum, and realized through the collaboration of Sabina Art Museum in Seoul, Korea, and the Suzhou Silk Museum in China.

The exhibition features 48 works-including paintings, installations, sculptures, and video art-by 17 leading contemporary Korean artists. These artists present creative interpretations that transcend tradition and modernity, as well as East and West, drawing on various traditional cultural elements found in hanbok such as patterns, colors, designs, and materials.

Kwon Kisoo offers a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional motifs like waves, clouds, and mountains from East Asian painting by using "Dongguri," a character representing both the artist himself and modern individuals, to reflect contemporary sensibilities. Kim Sunmi expresses the lives and beauty of women through a series that reinterprets traditional holiday attire and accessories with a modern touch. In this way, the artists use their unique visual languages and styles to embody the symbolism and formative beauty of traditional culture found in hanbok through contemporary art.

Media art projected on the left wall of Suzhou Wu Culture Museum. Provided by Sabina Art Museum

The opening event on October 31 attracted more than 500 visitors. Various supplementary programs were held, including a Cheongsachorong (traditional Korean lantern) making experience, a Korea-China traditional costume fashion show, and a Korean traditional music performance. The highlight of the opening ceremony was the media facade screening, where large-scale media art works by artists Kim Changkyum and Lee Lee Nam, interpreting hanbok as their theme, were projected onto the east and west exterior walls of the Suzhou Wu Culture Museum, creating a spectacular scene.

Lee Myungok, Director of Sabina Art Museum, emphasized, "Traditional costume is more than just clothing-it is a philosophy of life and the essence of spiritual culture. This exhibition is a special occasion where Korea and China reinterpret their traditions through art, forming a cultural bond."