LG joins hands with modern artists as it goes upscale

LG Electronics and its affiliates are actively incorporating art into its high-tech products as it vies to position itself in more premium markets.

A visitor looks at the "Blooming Strings" media artwork which utilizes LG Display's transparent OLED panel at Artechouse in Washington D.C. [LG CORP.]

LG companies are actively incorporating art into its high-tech products as it vies to position itself in more premium markets.

LG Electronics, LG Display and holding company LG Corp. have recently partnered with New York's Guggenheim Museum to find and create opportunities where art and technology can converge.

"The idea came about realizing that it is hard to differentiate ourselves from others with just technology so we decided to collaborate with art," LG Corp. spokesman said.

LG Corp. partnered with the Guggenheim Musuem to launch the LG Guggenheim Award, which recognizes modern artists who have done innovative work with technology. [LG CORP.]

The partnership, dubbed the LG Guggenheim Art & Technology Initiative, is expected to last through 2027.

Under the partnership, LG Corp. started the LG Guggenheim Award this year to recognize modern artists who have done innovative artworks using new technology. The global award provides $100,000 in prize money and a trophy.

Brooklyn-based artist Stephanie Dinkins was named the winner of the award’s first edition this year. Dinkins’ media works center around artificial intelligence.

LG Display, a panel making affiliate, is sponsoring the Young Collectors Council's YCC party, held at the Guggenheim Museum annually. The Young Collectors Council recognizes up-and-coming artists and tries to find them more opportunities in the art world.

LG Display sponsors the Guggenheim's YCC Party organized by the Young Collectors Council, which champions up-and-coming artists. [LG CORP.]

This year, LG Display installed large-scale transparent OLED (organic light emitting diode) panels at the venue to create exotic photo walls filled with works of media art. This year’s party was conceptualized as Artificial Digital Paradise.

Transparent OLED panels are considered one of LG Display’s major technology assets, with the company claiming to be the first to put them in mass production in 2019.

The transparent screen has been mostly adapted in signage, architecture and mobility and most recently as an art canvas. It suits artwork by creating a holographic effect and delivering vivid colors.

LG Display has installed eight transparent OLED panels in a media art piece entitled "Blooming Strings," on display since March as part of the exhibition "Timeless Butterflies" at modern art gallery Artechouse in Washington D.C.

As the visitors walk by the panels, flower petals and leaves bloom and scatter, radiating vivid colors.

When the panels, each displaying a different image, are layered, they can create multi-dimensional visuals impossible with conventional OLED panels with black frames in the back, according to LG.

Some 31,000 visitors have checked out the exhibition until April, the company says.

LG Electronics is putting its OLED TV at the forefront.

In May, LG Electronics collaborated with world-renowned digital artist Six N.Five to create an artwork titled "Among The Sky" which participated in the Freize New York art fair in which LG Electronics serves a sponsor. LG Electronics also participated in Freize LA to collaborate with Barry X Ball to exhibit an NFT art piece.

The Korean electronics company also participated in the Milan Design Week 2023 in April and collaborated with the Netherlands-based premium furniture brand Moooi to furnish its exhibition space with its high-end OLED TV lineup.

"Elevating LG's brand value has much to do with creating unique customer experiences. We recognize contemporary artists as ideal partners in such endeavors," the spokesperson said.

"This is because the brand direction of LG which prioritizes innovation and creativity has a lot in common with modern art."

LG Electronics' OLED TV is exhibited at Moooi's display space during Milan Design Week 2023. [LG CORP]

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]