Header

Search
Partnership Museum Rietberg Zurich

News

Table of contents

Forthcoming

We post updates here regularly—do check back from time to time

UZH

2025 in Review

Japan De Luxe

Partnership: East Asian Art History KHIST UZH, Department of Japanese Studies AOI UZH, and the Museum Rietberg Zurich

Fall term: courses

Surimono at the intersection of art, materiality and the culture of writing

The Department of East Asian Art History KHIST UZH offers the course Curating Surimono: from research to display (in English), in partnership with the Museum Rietberg and its forthcoming exhibition Japan de luxe – The Art of Surimono. The course is taught by the curator of the exhibition, Dr. Khanh Trinh.

In parallel, the Department of Japanese Studies AOI UZH offers the course Introduction to premodern Japanese cursive script (kuzushiji) and research of surimono at Museum Rietberg, led by Dr. Sebastian Balmes. This course provides fundamental skills in reading and interpreting premodern Japanese manuscripts. Both courses are academically aligned with the exhibition, offering distinct scholarly perspectives on a unique genre of Japanese cultural history. Through the study of selected objects from the collection of the Museum Rietberg, students will engage with literary content and analyse it within its historical and cultural context.

 

May: Conference “Korean Wave(s)? Global Itineraries of Korean Art and Culture”

Introduction to Korean Art History
Partnership: Chair of East Asian Art History KHIST and Museum Rietberg Zürich

The conference "Korean Wave(s)? Global Itineraries of Korean Art and Culture" was organised by the Chair of East Asian Art History at the University of Zurich in collaboration with the Museum Rietberg and took place as part of the special exhibitionHallyu! The Korean Wave.
Top

Spring term: course

Introduction to Korean Art History
Partnership: East Asian Art History UZH with the support of MRZ and VMZ

During the spring term 2025, the Department of East Asian Art History offered a module on the history of Korean art.
Taught by Dr Tomoe Steineck, the course provided a structured introduction to key art forms, media, techniques, and genres from the Neolithic period to the present. The programme included excursions to the Museum Rietberg and the Ethnographic Museum, as well as integrated assignments developed in response to the exhibition Hallyu! The Korean Wave.

As part of the course, students had the opportunity to engage with two thematic focal points: One explored the global cultural relevance of K-Fashion, culminating in a self-curated tour of selected works. The other centred on the contemporary artist Lee Bul, who was the subject of a 90-minute symposium designed to explore how present-day art engages with historical memory—both at a personal and cultural level.

 

Top