Gala Porras-Kim @ Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul - "National Treasures" Exhibition

Gala Porras-Kim: National Treasures 

Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul 

October 31, 2023 - 31 March, 2024 

Leeum Museum of Art presents National Treasures by Gala Porras-Kim, an exhibition that explores the intricacies that arise when ancient objects, history and modern systems intersect. Showcasing Porras-Kim’s three new works based on Korean cultural heritage and ten national treasures drawn from the museum's collection, the exhibition is also a reflection on the particularity of Leeum as a place where traditional Korean art and contemporary art coexist and continually renegotiate their relationship.

In her research-based practice, Gala Porras-Kim has explored the fraught relationship between institutions such as museums and cultural heritage legislations, and cultural objects. Her works bring our attention to the underlying principles that guide a museum by investigating its cataloging and indexing system, conservation doctrines, and the way in which its collection is presented. They shed light on undecipherable text and lost information, incomplete records and competing histories, revealing the uncertainties that fill the space of a museum.

By calling upon national treasures from both North and South Korea, as well as cultural objects presumed to be taken during the Japanese occupation, the works in this exhibition consider the ways in which the state evaluates and manages artifacts, and how historical contexts of colonization and division have added meanings to our cultural heritage. 530 National Treasures, which brings together national treasures from North and South Korea, reminds us that various entities throughout history, such as imperial Japan, South Korea, and North Korea, have managed cultural heritage differently according to their needs. 37 Korean objects uprooted during the Japanese occupation addresses the issue of cultural property loss, a common challenge faced by countries that were subjected to colonization. By displaying these works alongside the national treasures from the Leeum collection, this exhibition invites the viewers to reflect on the ideas and principles that govern this institution and how it is being enacted at this very moment.

LEEUM MUSEUM OF ART

60-16, Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 04348

www.leeumhoam.org

Suki Seokyeong Kang @ Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul - "Willow Drum Oriole" Exhibition

Suki Seokyeong Kang

Willow Drum Oriole

Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul

September 7 - December 31, 2023

Leeum Museum of Art presents Willow Drum Oriole, a solo exhibition of one of Korea’s leading contemporary artists, Suki Seokyeong Kang. Experimenting with the expansive possibilities of painting as a medium through a variety of media and methods, including two dimensional work, sculpture, installation, video, and performance (“activations”), Suki Seokyung Kang’s oeuvre encompasses a wide range of artistic, cultural, and social contexts that are at once traditional and contemporary. This exhibition, the largest institutional solo show of the artist to date, presents works that have been developed from previous series such as Jeong, Mora, Mat, Grandmother Tower, Narrow Meadow, and Tender Meander, as well as Mountain, Ears Hours and Column, a new body of diversified work, including sculptural installations and a video.

Willow Drum Oriole, the title of both the exhibition and a new video work, is a reference to the sages of yore who would read the movements and sounds of the oriole flying in and out of the leaves of willow trees, as if weaving a thread into the fabric of the landscape. Using this metaphor, the artist symbolically reveals a defining characteristic of her work: sensitivity to audiovisual and tactile awareness, combined with spatiotemporal experience. The exhibition unfurls like a landscape painting, spread across and resounding synesthetically through a three dimensional space; in it are mountains reifying the four seasons of the year, day and night stretched over the floor and walls, ears wide open and hovering in the air, narrow yet rich meadows and rounded figures roving around only to linger in place, and various rectangular frames creating spaces for each work, while invisibly delineating the composition of the exhibition. The structures created therein exude rich reverberations arising from between the frames and margins, warmth and coolness, softness and hardness, stillness and movement.

Suki Seokyeong Kang contemplates the territory that society grants to the individual and envisions a “true-view” landscape in which the presence and movement of those around us are perceived and interrelated. Although the works of the landscape each exist in different forms and ways, they collectively unravel a narrative of togetherness as they organically integrate and disperse. The artist thereby presents an arena in which I, you, and we exist wholesomely, persistently mediating our imbalances and differences.

Suki Seokyeong Kang (b. 1977, lives and works in Seoul)

Suki Seokyeong Kang is a visual artist based in Seoul, Korea. Kang’s practice traverses painting, sculpture, performance, video, and installation. Inspired by cultural traditions of Korea as well as contemporary artistic and literary discourses, Kang decodes rules and values that govern these disciplines, turning to artistic languages of the past to construct a contextual lens through which she explores the notion of individuality and freedom in the present moment.

She studied Korean Painting at Ewha Womans University, Seoul and Painting at the Royal College of Art, London. She is Professor of Korean Painting at Ewha Womans University. Her recent solo exhibitions have been held at the Commonwealth and Council, LA, Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, Mudam Luxembourg, and the ICA Philadelphia. She has been featured in the Venice Biennale, the Shanghai Biennale, and the Gwangju Biennale. In 2018, Kang won the Baloise Art Prize at Art Basel.

Suki Seokyeong Kang

Willow Drum Oriole

Exhibition Catalogue co-published by LEEUM / Hatje Cantz

Edited by: Harry C. H. Choi, Lee Hanbum

Texts by: Connie Butler, Harry C. H. Choi, 

Joan Kee, Christine Y. Kim, Michelle Kuo, 

Zoe Whitley, June Young Kwak

English, Korean, 2024, 392 Pages, 300 Ills.

Linen hardcover, 264mm x 190mm

ISBN: 978-3-7757-5293-0

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue that reads Kang's practice through a range of varying discourses, such as the history of Korean painting, feminism, and the narratives of the Western avant-garde, with essays by June Young Kwak, Connie Butler (Director, MoMA PS1), Christine Kim (Britton Family Curator-at-Large, Tate), Michelle Kuo (Marlene Hess Curator of Painting and Sculpture, MoMA), Zoe Whitley (Director, Chisenhale Gallery). The catalogue is published by Hatje Cantz.

Suki Seokyeong Kang’s Solo Exhibition Willow Drum Oriole is curated by June Young Kwak (Head of Exhibition, Leeum Museum of Art) with June Young Kwak (Curator, Leeum Museum of Art) and in partnership with Bottega Veneta. 

LEEUM MUSEUM OF ART

60-16, Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 04348

www.leeumhoam.org

Kim Beom @ Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul - "How to become a rock" Exhibition

Kim Beom

How to become a rock

Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul

July 27 - December 3, 2023

Leeum Museum of Art presents How to become a rock, a solo exhibition of one of Korea’s leading contemporary artists, Kim Beom. Comprising works from the early 1990s to the mid-2010s, the large-scale survey exhibition brings together more than 70 works, including his early paintings and pieces from overseas collections that have rarely been shown in Korea.

Spanning across diverse media, Kim probes the gap between what is seen and what lies within, along with animistic thinking and hypothetical situations that shatter stereotypes. In his work, an antelope chases a cheetah, a dog bursts through a wall, a ship learns that there is no ocean, and a car key is transformed into mountainous landscapes. Combining his uniquely unpretentious forms with extraordinary ideas, Kim’s works are not only refreshing to the eye, but also overturn basic premises of the world, making us aware of areas of truth hidden by social conventions. Pursuing an aesthetic that may appear excessively calm and even ascetic, Kim rules that "what you see is not all of what you see," a self-reflective statement in its own right. As such, he urges us to question what we know, see, and believe, pushing aside all habitual thinking and awakening in us a way of “seeing” that is entirely new and different.

The exhibition title, How to become a rock, is an excerpt from Kim's artist book, The Art of Transforming (1997). More than a direct reference to the content of the book, the exhibition seeks ways to exist in a world dominated by power and control and leads us to reflect on the identities, and the variable relationships therein, formed by uniform rote learning. His sensitive and incisive critical thinking vigorously explores what humans project and their inherent contradictions, as well as the gap between image and substance. While his seemingly clumsy craftsmanship redefines the relationship between materiality and immateriality in art, his deliberate lo-fi sensibility emerges as a quiet resistance to all standardized thinking, impervious to the speed and trends of today.

Public programs in conjunction with the exhibition include: a conversation between the artist Kim Beom, exhibition curator Sungwon Kim, and Eunji Joo (Curator of Contemporary Art, SFMoMA); a lecture led by poet Oh Eun, which explores the artist’s writing and book-making practices; and Critics’ Circle, which brings together emerging critics and art professionals to critically engage with and expand on the works of Kim Beom.

Kim Beom Solo Exhibition How to become a rock is curated by Sungwon Kim (Deputy Director and Chief Curator Leeum Museum of Art) with Jiwon Yu (Curator, Leeum Museum of Art) and supported by various departments of the Museum.

KIM BEOM (b. 1963, lives and works in Seoul)

Kim Beom’s solo exhibitions include Water from Ganges River in the Cup Made with Newspaper from Congo (Kunsthal Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark, 2019), Random Life (STPI, Singapore, 2017), Continuing Studies (Plug In Institution of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, Canada, 2016), Kim Beom (Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada, 2015), The School of Inversion (Hayward Gallery, London, UK, 2012), Animalia (REDCAT, LA, USA, 2011), Kim Beom: Objects Being Taught They Are Nothing But Tools (Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, USA, 2010), and Kim Beom (Art Sonje Center, Seoul, Korea, 2010). He has participated in international exhibitions including the Sharjah Biennial 12 (UAE, 2015), the 9th Gwangju Biennale (Gwangju, Korea, 2012), The 6th Seoul International Biennale of Media Art (now the Seoul Mediacity Biennale) Media City Seoul 2010 (Seoul, Korea, 2010), the Korean Pavilion at the 51st Venice biennale (Italy, 2005), the 8th ististan Biennale (Turkey, 2003), and the 1st Taipei Biennial (Taiwan, 1998).

LEEUM MUSEUM OF ART

60-16, Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 04348

www.leeumhoam.org

Joseon White Porcelain @ Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul

Joseon White Porcelain: Paragon of Virtue 

Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul 

February 28 - May 28, 2023 

Leeum Museum of Art presents the first special exhibition, on ceramics in the history of Leeum, Joseon White Porcelain: Paragon of Virtue. It is organized for the express purpose of bringing together all of the diverse types of Joseon white porcelain in a single place. Because there are so many varieties of Joseon white porcelain, as well as many extant works, it has typically been presented in thematic exhibitions or displays focusing on individual forms or decorative techniques. While such exhibitions and projects are very meaningful in providing an in-depth understanding of certain types or categories, they have thus far precluded any attempt to comprehensively examine the full spectrum of Joseon white porcelain. Notably, the development and modification of Joseon white porcelain over time directly reflects the ups and downs of the society as a whole. Hence, white porcelain can serve as a fascinating lens for examining the entire history of the Joseon Dynasty and the minds of its people.

In order to allow various details to be easily distinguished, this exhibition has been roughly divided into three sections: blue-and-white porcelain, white porcelain in iron-brown or copper-red underglaze, and monochrome white porcelain. With the exception of blue-and-white porcelain, which was generally the highest quality white porcelain of the time, the other two types were produced in kilns throughout the country. Therefore, the displays in those sections have also been subdivided between porcelains produced by the official kilns (near the capital) and by regional kilns.

Through the triumph and turmoil of the full 500-year history of the Joseon Dynasty, numerous white porcelains were steadily produced by each region, which now serve as a mirror for their respective time period. Containing both tradition and innovation, elegance and humor, contraction and expansion, the legacy of Joseon white porcelain cannot be easily described or summarized in a few words. Seeking the best way to approach this quandary, Leeum thought about the society that produced and used these white porcelains in everyday life. Taking another look at the white porcelains featured in this exhibition, it is reminded of the “gunja,” or “superior person,” who manifests the highest virtues and ideals of Neo-Confucianism.

From the time of its founding, Joseon established a centralized system of government based on Neo-Confucianism, which became deeply rooted throughout the country as the fundamental state ideology. By practicing self-cultivation based on their study of Neo-Confucianism, the people of Joseon ultimately aspired to transcend their individual lives and become like the gunja, the model of Neo-Confucian virtue. As this exhibition shows, the physical embodiment of that virtue was white porcelain.

Showcasing the myriad facets of Joseon white porcelain, which widely vary depending on the time period, production site, and decorative technique, Joseon White Porcelain: Paragon of Virtue seeks to move beyond mere aesthetic appreciation by illuminating the conception of the gunja that the people of Joseon sought to emulate. To this end, the exhibition not only introduces a dazzling array of Joseon white porcelains, ranging from the highest quality ceramic treasures to everyday household items used by ordinary citizens, but also describes how these vessels epitomize the fundamental principles of Joseon society. As such, our hope is that the exhibition will open a new horizon for the overall perception of Joseon white porcelain.

LEEUM MUSEUM OF ART

60-16, Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 04348

www.leeumhoam.org

Maurizio Cattelan @ Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul

Maurizio Cattelan: WE

Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul

January 31 - July 16, 2023

Leeum Museum of Art presents WE, a solo exhibition by Maurizio Cattelan (b. 1960, Padua, Italy). Comprised of 38 works from the three decades since his emergence in the 1990s, this is the Italian artist’s first solo exhibition in South Korea, and the largest survey of his oeuvre since his 2011 retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

WE features works of sculpture, mural, photography, and installation that embody the artist’s deadpan humor, defiance, and provocation. On view are animal taxidermy works such as Ghosts (2021) and Bidibidobidiboo (1996), hyperreal effigies including La Nona Ora (1999), and variations of self-portraits like Untitled (2001), Charlie (2003), and We (2010). WE also brings forth some among the most stimulating works by Maurizio Cattelan - Him (2001), an effigy of a boy with Adolf Hitler’s face kneeling in prayer and Comedian (2019), a banana duct-taped to a wall that stirred a chain of controversies when debuted at the 2019 Art Basel Miami Beach.

With no formal training in fine art, Maurizio Cattelan started his career by designing furniture after working various odd jobs. The unconventional trajectory of his life and career has contributed to his artistic persona as an intruder and provocateur in the art world, audaciously crossing boundaries and challenging stereotypes.

Maurizio Cattelan’s hyperrealistic sculptures and paintings are straightforward and recognizable, while also cleverly and stealthily appropriating art history and popular culture. Strewn with satirical and cynical anecdotes, his works audaciously demand us to confront uncomfortable truths and overturn our foundations of perception. Distancing himself from the role of an artist who preaches or enlightens, Cattelan voluntarily caricatures and offers himself up to accusations of fraud, ridicule and criticism. Ironically, the very antics that garnered him a reputation as a provocateur, prankster, and even a swindler at times, render him a keen critic of reality piercing through human nature and contemporary society. From all corners of the exhibition, the gaze of multiple Maurizio Cattelans as intruder, police officer, priest, criminal, artist, and boy invite us to partake in a Cattelanesque theater of human comedy and the provocative jokester intricately mobilizes Chaplin-style comic devices throughout the space, forging wistful bonds in the face of the cruelty of life.

WE, the title of the exhibition, borrowed from one of the artist’s works, is more than a simple reference to the piece; it questions what exactly is meant by the word: Who are "we"? What makes us who "we" are? And how are "we" related? Maurizio Cattelan's practice challenges us to reflect on these questions while considering the notions of oppression, anxiety, authority, religion, love, family, life and death, altogether encouraging deeper conversations and facilitating greater solidarity. An image of a pope struck down by a meteorite (La Nona Ora, 1999) resonates beyond the religion and region it represents, ushering in a broader debate on the meaning of authority and oppression. The nine Carrara marble sculptures reminiscent of corpses (All, 2007) commemorate and remind us of a recent tragedy nearby, circling us back to our stark realities and gently touching our lives.

LEEUM MUSEUM OF ART

60-16, Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 04348

www.leeumhoam.org

Human, 7 questions @ Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul

Human, 7 questions

Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul

October 8, 2021 — January 2, 2022

This special exhibition looks back on ‘human beings’, a subject that has been fundamental to art, and contemplates the meaning of human existence against the backdrop of the fast-changing environment of the 21st century and the unprecedented pandemic as we head towards the future. With approximately 130 works by more than 50 artists from Korea and abroad, the exhibition brings together postwar art of the mid-20th century, when introspection on human existence became widespread, and recent art that emerged with the development of discussions on issues concerning the crisis of humanism and the rise of the posthuman era. The exhibition offers visitors a chance to reflect on the existence of human beings and the relationships that surround us and raises questions about human values that we may have taken for granted until now.

LEEUM MUSEUM OF ART

60-16, Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 04348

www.leeumhoam.org