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Wondering where to go for your next museum adventure in Seoul? If you’re hankering to get your local art fix, check out these exhibitions that are running during the Autumn and Winter 2021 in Seoul, South Korea. I’ll continuously add more as I find them, so check back periodically to look for new additions!

Henri Matisse: Life and Joy

Étude pour la Vierge “Tête voilée”, Henri Matisse (1969) via Artsy

There’s another Henri Matisse retrospective on view at Hangaram Art Museum (Seoul Arts Center, Nambusunhwanro 2406, Seocho-gu, Seoul) that is on display from December 21st, 2021 to April 10th, 2022.

Over 200 original works including drawings, prints and art books will be shown as part of this exhibition, which is eager to illuminate the life and artistic world of Henri Matisse.

Seoul Arts Center

Mary Corse: Painting with Light

Mary Corse: Painting with Light via APMA

About 30 works will be on view by Mary Corse at APMA, Amorepacific Museum of Art, (100 Hangang-daero, Yongsan-gu, Seoul) from November 2nd, 2021 to February 20th, 2022.

Mary Koss is an artist from California, USA, and will be introduced for the first time in Korea through this exhibition. The artist has been passionately exploring light as a subject and material for the past 60 years, and has experimented with various materials and techniques to incorporate light into his paintings. In particular, focusing on individual differences in subjectivity, we created a screen that constantly changes according to the viewer’s perception and location.

APMA

Ai Weiwei: Defend the Future

Ai Weiwei: Defend the Future at MMCA

Ai Weiwei’s works will be on view at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Seoul (30 Samcheong-ro, Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul) from December 3rd, 2021 to April 17th, 2022.

《Ai Weiwei》is a retrospective of Ai Weiwei (b. 1957), a global installation artist, film director and an activist. It will introduce the artist’s representative works that embody his ways of thought. 〈Coronation〉(2020), a film that depicts the situation of Wuhan City following its shutdown in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as 〈Omni〉(2019), a film made with VR technology will also be screened. Moreover, a site-specific project that deals with the current issues of 2021 will also be unfolded, which will be a new large-scale work that will be developed by taking into consideration the features of Museum Madang. The exhibition aims to look back on the role and impact of art within the society through the artist who has been dealing with major issues of the contemporary society (i.e. issue of democracy including surveillance and censorship in the modern society, human rights and solidarity of refugees).

MMCA

Roy Lichtenstein: The Scent of Tears

Roy Lichtenstein

You can view 130 pieces of Roy Lichtenstein’s works and instagrammable spaces at the Seoul Forest Arts Center in Galleria Foret (G205, 32-14, Seoulsup 2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul) from December 3rd, 2021 to January 31st, 2022. Tickets are available on Interpark.

Chagall and the Bible

Marc Chagall via My Art Museum

This special bible-themed exhibition of the painter, Marc Chagall, will be on view at My Art Museum (B1, 518 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul) from November 25th, 2021 to April 10th, 2022. Tickets are available on Interpark.

In November 2021, My Art Museum held a retrospective exhibition of the painter Chagall who left a mark in art history with his original materials and style, and the most important source of art creation for Chagall, the Bible. It will be held from the 25th to the 10th of April 22nd. Marc Chagall, a Russian-born painter who settled in France, spreads the message of life and love based on colorful colors and dreamy style, and is loved as one of the greatest painters of the 20th century along with Picasso and Matisse. . Unlike the previous Chagall exhibitions held several times in Korea, this exhibition includes 19 oil paintings and gouache, including and , which are in the possession of Chagall’s bereaved family with the theme of ‘the Bible’, which has not been dealt with alone. A total of 220 original works will be displayed, including masterpieces from the store, two large tapestries that are close to 4 meters tall, and the Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso Münster collection in Germany. During the time he was drawing Bible-themed works, he developed his art world based on his love for mankind suffering from war and slaughter. This will be a time to fully appreciate the message of love for mankind that he delivers through the Bible.

My Art Museum

Kandinsky, Malevich & Russian Avant-Garde

“Improvisation” (1913) by Wassily Kandinsky via The Korea Times

This Russian avante-garde exhibition will include artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Mikhail Larionov, Natalia Goncharova, Alexander Rodchenko and be on view at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts (175, Sejong-daero, Jongo-gu, Seoul) from December 31st, 2021 to April 17th, 2022. Early bird tickets can be purchased on Interpark.

“Most of the 75 pieces to be showcased have never been seen by viewers in Korea before, except for two ― Kandinsky’s ‘Improvisation No. 217, Gray Oval’ and Malevich’s ‘Suprematism’,” Lee Hoon-suk, the show’s curator and an art historian, told The Korea Times.

The Korea Times

A Surreal Shock: Masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

A Surreal Shock: Masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen at Hangaram Art Museum (SAC)

This exhibition includes around 180 pieces of art — including René Magritte and Salvador Dali — borrowed from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (The Netherlands) and will be on view at the Hangaram Museum (2406 Nambusunhwan-ro, Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul) from November 27th, 2021 to March 6th, 2022.

Andy Warhol: Looking for Andy

Andy Warhol via Espace Louis Vuitton

Selected works by Andy Warhol will be on view at Espace Louis Vuitton (454 Apgujeong-ro, Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul) from October 1st, 2021 to February 6th, 2022. Tickets can be reserved at Espace Louis Vuitton.

Espace Louis Vuitton Seoul in Cheongdam, southern Seoul, is exhibiting selected works of the Andy Warhol collection from Oct. 1 to Feb. 6 next year. Titled “Andy Warhol: Looking for Andy,” the exhibition displays pieces from the high-end brand’s art museum Fondation Louis Vuitton’s collection in Paris.

Korea Joonang Daily

Human, 7 Questions

Human, 7 Questions exhibition at Leeum Art Museuem

This existential group exhibition consisting of about 130 artists and works will be on view at Leeum Art Museum (60-16, Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul) from October 8th, 2021 to January 2nd, 2022.

Humans have perpetually endeavored to define who they are. This is evidenced by the numerous modifiers that exist for the word “homo,” which has the meaning of “human.” Humans, who have been regarded as wise and rational beings for centuries, have long believed that they are able to alter the course of the world independently from God. Meanwhile, the astonishing development of science and technology has indeed brought incredible changes to human civilization. While humans continue to challenge themselves to transcend their limits, on the other hand, they are also facing uncontrollable disasters that shake the very core of their daily lives. Amid these new and unfamiliar circumstances and a rapidly changing environment, we again find ourselves posing questions about humans. With this awareness, Leeum endeavors to examine the meaning of being human and to assess the future through the exhibition Human, 7 questions. The exhibition is organized in the form of posing seven questions about humans through approximately 50 artists and 130 artworks, both domestic and international. Beginning with the postwar art of the mid-twentieth century, when introspection on human existence became widespread, the exhibition proceeds to examine more recent artworks that have emerged together with discussions on the crisis of humanism and the posthuman. Through these works, the exhibition seeks to examine various images of humans that traverse the boundaries between the mind and body, rational and irrational, “me” and the community, real and virtual, and humans and nonhumans. Further, the exhibition seeks to reconsider human values that have been taken for granted thus far. What is human? What are the conditions that define humanity? How are the boundaries between me, the Other, and the world changing? And, are we ready to coexist with unfamiliar beings beyond humans?

Leeum Art Museum

Anne Collier

Anne Collier via Gallery Baton in Seoul

You can see Anne Collier’s first solo exhibition in Seoul at Gallery Baton (116, Dokseodang-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul) from November 19th, 2021 to December 23rd, 2021.

Anne Collier has been recognized internationally for her complex body of work that considers our social and cultural relationships with images and with the medium of photography itself. Central to this project is Collier’s ongoing consideration of the emotional and psychological attachments we develop with images, and how these (auto)biographical narratives relate to photography’s inherent relationship with memory, melancholia and loss. Throughout her work Collier seeks to privilege the relationship between gender and image-making, whilst simultaneously maintaining a tension between the ’objective’, almost forensic-like depiction of her subjects and the often fraught and highly emotive nature of the images and objects that she re-presents.

Gallery Baton

Van Gogh Inside: The Theater

Van Gogh Inside: The Theater at Ground Seesaw Myeongdong

A digital exploration of Van Gogh’s works will be on view at Ground Seesaw Myeongdong (9th floor, Avenue L, 130 Namdaemun-ro 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul) from October 15th, 2021 to November 28th, 2021. Like many of Ground Seesaw’s exhibitions, this one is the perfect instagrammable event.

Toilet Paper: The Studio

Toiletpaper Magazine via The Hyundai Dive

TOILETPAPER: The Studio, from the famous TOILETPAPER Magazine by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari, will be on view at the Hyundai Card Storage (248 B2 Itaewon-ro, Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul) between October 8th, 2021 to February 6th, 2022. If you’re keen on purchasing some TOILETPAPER goods, you can also find them in-store at 10 Corso Como in Seoul.

Toiletpaper (stylized as “TOILETPAPER”) is a biannual magazine co-created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari. Founded in 2010, the magazine is presented as a limited edition book and its website offers a post-internet collaged exhibition of animated and video content.

The photography-based publication contains no articles or advertisements, and each issue revolves around a basic theme, such as love or greed. The brightly-coloured, surreal images vary in style and reference, and include word play and optical illusions.Hailed as “a new frontier of media and creative eco-sustainability,” Toiletpaper is interpreted as a democratized art platform whose accessible images circulate in books and throughout social media, while also being applied to design and home decor products. To celebrate their purported “one-millionth” magazine sale, Cattelan and Ferrari opened their first Toiletpaper pop-up shop in Milan.

Wikipedia

Alice Dalton Brown: A Place of Light

Alice Dalton Brown via My Art Museum

Alice Dalton Brown’s works will be on display at My Art Museum (Textile Center Building B1, 518 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul) from July 24th, 2021 to October 24th, 2021.

My Art Museum will hold the exhibition ‘Alice Dalton Brown, A Place of Light’ from July 24 to October 24, 2021. 

Alice Dalton Brown is a New York-based painter who paints with realism techniques. Her works are in the possession of leading institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the New York Public Library, and are loved by many domestic galleries and collectors. 

This exhibition is her first and largest retrospective exhibition abroad. It was produced as an original oil painting of 〈Long golden day〉, which was popular because art prints were introduced in dramas ‘The World of the Married’ and ‘Secret Forest’, and commissioned by My Art Museum. About 80 works including large-scale oil paintings and pastels of 2-3 meters in size, including three new works, will be introduced. 

Alice Dalton Brown’s work, which delicately depicts the contrast between natural and artificial materials, provides a visual beauty of light, water and wind, and a refreshing and peaceful rest. 

Through the blue landscape that seems to extend beyond the canvas, it will provide the audience with a time of quiet meditation.

My Art MuseUM

Salvador Dali: Imagination and Reality

Salvador Dali via GNC Media

The Salvador Dali exhibition will be on view at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) Museum, B2F Design Exhibition Hall (M1 Gate), from November 27th, 2021 to March 20th, 2022. Dongdaemun Design Plaza is located at 281 Eulji-ro, Euljiro 7(chil)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul.

The first retrospective in Korea on the master of surrealism, Salvador Dalí is opening at DDP, presenting the Spanish artist’s oeuvre based on the collections from the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres in Spain, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and the Dalí (Salvador Dalí Museum) in Florida, United States.

After a long course of collaboration with the Salvador Dali Foundation, Salvador Dalí’s retrospective surveys the artist’s career and his genius talents by exploring the paintings chronologically from the artist’s early period to the last along with many interviews he conducted, film works, advertisements, fashion, and design, etc.

GNC Media

Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures

Tutankhamun Exhibition at the War Memorial of Korea via Tutankhamun.co.kr

The Tutankhamun exhibition is on view at the War Memorial of Korea (29 Itaewon-ro, Namyeong-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul) from June 22nd, 2021 to April 24th, 2022.

“Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures” is an exhibition at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul’s Yongsan-gu District that displays replicas of the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun and 1,300 relics. Prominent experts took part in the event with the Egyptian government’s support. Marking the centennial anniversary of the tomb’s discovery, which is considered the greatest of its kind in archaeological history, the exhibition features real-size reproductions of items found in the tomb, from the murals of tombs to golden masks. Visitors can experience the process of excavating the tomb and learn about ancient Egyptian history and culture.

Korea.net

The Art of Banksy: Without Limits

“Banksy’s works arrive in Seoul”, via Korea Times

Banksy’s art is making a world tour and stopping in South Korea. You can view the exhibition, The Art of Banksy: Without Limits, at the Seouliteum (Galleria Foret G-Floor 1, 32-14, Seoulsup 2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul) between August 20th, 2021 to February 6th, 2022.

Beyond the Road

Beyond the Road exhibition at Hyundai Seoul (Photo via Interpark)

The Beyond the Road exhibition features artists like James Lavelle (UNKLE), Colin Nightingale, Danny Boyle, Alfonso Cuaron, Toby De, Nathan Cole, Azzi Glasser, Tupac Martir, and more. You can see this interactive exhibition at the Hyundai Seoul Alt. 1 Gallery (6F, 108, Yeoui-daero, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul) from July 23rd, 2021 to November 28th, 2021.

This immersive sensory experience is part of the exhibition “Beyond the Road,” where the mix of sounds and visual effects highlights the displayed paintings, sculptures, videos and installations. Since its debut in London’s Saatchi Gallery in 2019, Seoul has stepped up as its first host in Asia.

The exhibition is presented in an interactive format, where the visitors get to be the ones choosing their own route and interpretation of the nameless visual arts and media pieces. The only guiding element is the music of British electronic musician James Lavelle and his band UNKLE.

For the last two decades, the show’s creatives ― producer Colin Nightingale and director Stephen Dobbie ― have been a part of Punchdrunk, the British theater company that ushered in the genre of “immersive theater.” One of their most popular works is “Sleep No More,” a reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy “Macbeth,” where spectators are given free rein to choose where to go and what scene to watch.

Korea TImes

Seiji Fujishiro: Fantasy of Light and Shadow

Fujishiro Seiji via Hangaram Art Museum

Fujishiro Seiji is a famous kiri-e — Japanese cut-out art based on silhouettes — artist. You can see his works on view at Hangaram Art Museum (2406 Nambusunhwan-ro, Seocho-gu, Seoul) from June 19th, 2021 to October 12th, 2021.

Flowers by Naked

Flowers by Naked – Hongdae via Nature Labs

Flowers by Naked – Hongdae is an interactive media exhibition composed of flowers — this time brought to you by Nature Labs — in Seoul, South Korea, and starting April 30th, 2021 until the end of the year. The exhibit is located on the 4th floor of AK&hongdae (188 Yanghwa-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul.) Early bird tickets are available on Wemakeprice.

Moomin: 75th Anniversary Special Original Painting Exhibition

Moomin exhibition at Ground Seesaw in Seongsu

In Boston, I had a few Finnish friends that showed me the delightful hippopotamus-looking Moomin characters! Moomins are the main characters of a series of beloved books and comic strips created by Swedish-speaking Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson.

The Moomin exhibition will be on view at Ground Seesaw (B1, Bldg. A, 49, Achasan-ro 17-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul) in the eastern Seoul neighborhood of Seongsu from November 13th, 2020 to November 14th, 2021. You can book ahead of time on Naver.

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2 comments on “Upcoming and Current Art Exhibitions in Seoul this Fall/Winter 2021

  • Thank you for your updates, I regularly check your posts for new art exhibits in Korea whenever I visit and have gone to many of your recommendations since 2020. Keep up the great work!

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