HEREN Society VIP Art Programs

HelioArt conducts art academies for people who care about and love culture and art. Since 2009, we have been holding special art classes for Herren Society members during the month of September every year. HelioArt's art classes are held in small groups and are highly popular every year, with lectures by some of the country's top art experts, as well as atelier visits to preview artists' workspaces and works.


HEREN Society 2011 – Ceramics Workshop

On 24 September 2011, Helioart held a hands-on ceramics art class at the workshop of the Department of Ceramics at Seoul National University for members of the HEREN SOCIETY, a luxury true membership magazine.

The art class began with a brief lecture on ceramics and was followed by a hands-on ceramic making session. The class was very popular and satisfying, with participants making a variety of ceramic works such as plates, teacups, and figurines that are useful in everyday life.

After the class, the ceramics were fired in a kiln at Seoul National University's Department of Ceramics and then safely delivered to the participants' homes.


Herren Society 2012 – Visit on Artist Keunjoong Kim’s Atelier

On 31 May 2012, HelioArt hosted the Herren Society for an atelier visit art class to welcome spring.

The art class was organised to visit Professor Keunjoong Kim's Yangpyeong atelier, where he gave a lecture on contemporary art, followed by an in-depth explanation of his works.

By visiting the workspace where Kim's artistic soul is contained, the students were able to see a scene of his work that is not easily accessible. It was also a time to relax and enjoy culture by visiting the artist's atelier in Yangpyeong, where artists' workshops are concentrated, away from the busy city centre.


Herren Society Art Class 2013 – President Hyewook Han

The first class of the 2013 Herren Society Art Class was held at HelioArt Space, with a talk by Hyewook Han, president of HelioArt, on ‘Art Table: Living Space and Art’. The lecture was held on 20 June.

We already accept art in various forms in our daily lives, such as contemporary artists creating album covers for popular singers, and construction sites on the streets being covered with artwork. However, when it comes to living spaces, we are indifferent to using art to decorate our homes, which is very different from the West, where paintings have become an integral part of interiors.

This lecture was a chance to gain concrete and practical knowledge on how to make art more welcoming in our lives, how to start collecting, what kind of paintings to hang, and how to make it easier to enjoy art.


Herren Society Art Class II 2013 - Lee Sung-nak

On 27 June 2013, for the second part of the Art Class, Dr. Lee Sung-nak, a physician, former chairman of the International Art Fair Organising Committee and chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Gacheon Medical University, gave a lecture on ‘The Skin of the Human Figure in Art’, in which he explained in an easy and entertaining way the health conditions of the figures in traditional Korean portraits.

Most of the portraits we see today from the Joseon Dynasty are of elderly people nearing the end of their lives. This is because in the Joseon Dynasty, people who had retired from the court and spent their last years in the countryside would be sent to paint their portraits by their wage earners, who would report that they were nearing the end of their lives. Therefore, if you look closely at the portraits, you can infer the name of the disease that led to their death.

It was fascinating to delve into the lives of Joseon portrait models through the lens of medicine, a subject I hadn't been exposed to before.


Herren Society Art Class III 2013 – Visit on Artist Jaehyo Lee’s Studio

On 4 July 2013, HelioArt visited the studio of artist Jaehyo Lee in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do, for the last part of the art class.

Lee Jae-hyo has been creating unique works by using common materials that are easy to find around him, such as stones, old objects, and branches, and transforming them with force. He has been receiving high praise not only in Korea but also abroad for his works that stand on the boundary between design and fine art, and are imbued with oriental beauty.

The studio was divided into three wings, and the exhibition rooms were arranged according to his paintings and sketches, small objects, and large installations.

After the exhibition, we had a chat with the artist to learn about his work, and in the evening, we had a barbecue to enjoy nature and art away from the city centre.


Herren Society Art Class III 2014 - Choseon Portraits Class by Sungnak Lee

On the 22nd of September, when the autumn sky was warm, HelioArt hosted an art class for the Herren Society members. In the art class titled ‘Korean Portraits - Why We Are Proud of Them’, we were able to feel the realism of Korean art by examining Korean portraits with Honorary President Lee Sung-nak, a dermatologist and PhD in art history.

By comparing portraits of the Joseon Dynasty with those of the West, Japan, and China, we learnt about the spirit of our ancestors, who pursued naturalness as it is, and were able to take pride in Korean culture and art.