The Official Web-Site Abroad of the Mansudae Art Studio

With a labor force of approximately 4000 people, 1000 of which artists, and an area of over 120,000 square meters, 80,000 of which indoor, the Mansudae Art Studio  is probably the largest art production center in the world and by far the largest and most important of the country.

It was founded on November 17, 1959 in Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Only six years had elapsed since the terrible Korean War (1950-1953) in which about 20% of the population of the country had died and most cities were completely destroyed.
The Studio is divided in 13 creative groups, seven manufacturing plants and more than 50 supply departments. The artistic works realized at the Mansudae Art Studio range from oil paintings to bronze sculptures, from Korean Paintings (ink on paper) to ceramics, from woodcuts to embroideries, from jewel paintings (made with precious and semiprecious stones reduced to powder) to charcoal drawings and much more.
The Mansudae Art Studio is not a sort of chain factory, like some Chinese and other Oriental centers, nor a school, but a very high quality art production center. The vast majority of the major art works of the country have been realized by Mansudae Art Studio artists. Their ages go from mid 20’s to mid 60’s and almost all are graduates of the very demanding Pyongyang University. Over half of the Merit Artists and of the People’s Artists, the two highest awards an artist can receive in DPRK, are or have been associated with the Mansudae Art Studio.
This web-site presents officially  the Mansudae Art Studio and its works to the West, and in general abroad, also to contrast the unauthorized use of the name by several Western and Asian web-sites and galleries. This web-site is managed from Italy following an agreement of exclusivity between the Mansudae Art Studio and the Italian Pier Luigi Cecioni. Works bought through this site are sold and shipped from Italy by an Italian company and they are accompanied by a certificate that guarantees they are made by Mansudae Art Studio artists.
How to buy a work

Almost all works shown in this web-site are on sale. To buy, first use the form you can open below to ask about the work you are interested in (availability and price). Please provide your identification data (name, e-mail, address, phone number). Unidentified inquiries will not be answered.
Once you know if the work is available, you are satisfied with its price and you decide to buy, communicate your intention to reserve the work. Make the payment by PayPal or a bank transfer to the account you will given. Once the payment is received the work will be shipped to you within three working days.
All transactions are made with an Italian company, not directly with the Mansudae Art Studio nor with any North Korean company. The transactions are regulated by Italian (European) law and shipping are made from Italy.

How to purchase
Do you want to hold an exhibition of Mansudae Art Studio works?

Museums, galleries, public institutions interested in holding exhibitions can contact us to evaluate the possibilities and, in case, to define the projects. The requesting parties must have very good artistic and cultural reputation.

All agreements are managed by an Italian company and all direct contacts are with it. The works are shipped from Italy.

Mansudae Art Studio
First Large Exhibition in the West

Genoa, Italy, May 17 - June 17, 2007

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Contrary to other claims, the first large exhibition of the Mansudae Art Studio in the West —practically the first of North Korean artists—was held in Genoa, Italy, from May 17 to June 17, 2007, a project of the brothers Pier Luigi and Eugenio Cecioni. With more than 100 works, in a beautiful venue, curated by Pier Luigi Tazzi, an internationally famous contemporary art critic particularly expert in Eastern Art (among his many experiences, in 2003 he was one of the two curators of the inaugural exhibition of the Mori Museum in Tokyo), illustrated by a 200 pages catalog, this exhibition marked a grandiose entrance of North Korean art in the Western scene.
The exhibition was inaugurated at the presence of Kim Song Min, vice president of the Mansudae Art Studio and chairman of the DPRK Artists Association, Han Tae Song, Ambassador of DPRK in Italy, Senator Lamberto Dini who in 2000, as Italian Foreign Minister, recognized DPRK on behalf of Italy.

The Hermit Country -  Today’s Art from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Project and management Pier Luigi Cecioni, Eugenio Cecioni
Curator Pier Luigi Tazzi
Image Angelo Plessas
Installation Gruppo A12
Coordination Elena Dall’Armi
Organization Andrea Cattaneo
Press Agent Edoardo Meoli

Cattaneo Adorno Palace and Doria Palace - Genoa, Italy, May 17 – June 17, 2007
 
Featured Artist: Hwang In Je

This section features one artist for about a month. A slide show presents his or her works which can also be seen in the Artists and in the Works sections of this website.

Hwang In Je is the best known woodcutter of the Mansudae Art Studio and arguably of the whole country. Born on July 1, 1943, during the Japanese occupation of Korea, he graduated from Pyongyang University in 1968. After graduation he went to work as an artist in the Hygiene Propaganda Agency. In 1976 he joined the Mansudae Art Studio and he has been associated with it ever since. One of his works, Fragrance of Potato Flowers, was one of the very first Mansudae Art Studio works sold in the West. Hwang In Je is one of the few artists to have worked also abroad, as testified by the series of woodcuts with Danube landscapes.

His woodcuts, as normal in North Korea, have very low editions, typically five copies, but, for instance, the two largest works shown here, both called Danube Riverside, are printed in two copies only.

For information on Hwang In Je’s works and their availability, please click on FAQ on purchases or on How to Purchase and fill the form you find there.