[2025 Art World] A Feast of Masters, from Gyeomjae Jeong Seon to Ron Mueik

Solo and Special Exhibitions by Domestic and International Masters Flood the Scene
Gukhyun Highlights 100 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art History
Hoam's 'Jeongseon and Bourgeois' Exhibition Draws Attention

The art world in 2025 is set to be filled with a variety of large-scale exhibitions. Major museums such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), Leeum Museum of Art, and Hoam Art Museum are ready to welcome visitors with solo and special exhibitions featuring both domestic and international masters.

Boy (2000) by Ron Mueck, AroS Aarhus, ?Thaddaeus Ropac

From the master of true-view landscape painting, Jeong Seon, to hyperrealist sculptor Ron Mueck, water drop painter Kim Chang-yeul, and Louise Bourgeois, famous for the large spider sculpture 'Maman,' art enthusiasts’ expectations are soaring.

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art will open the new year with a solo exhibition of Australian hyperrealist sculptor Ron Mueck at its Seoul branch in April. Mueck is globally recognized for his gigantic hyperrealistic human sculptures. This exhibition, co-organized with the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain in France, will feature over 30 works including sculptures, photographs, and documentaries, highlighting his representative piece 'Mass.'

Kim Chang-yeol, PA920001, Makgeolli in Mapo, Canola, 130x162cm, 1992 [Photo by Jeju Provincial Kim Chang-yeol Art Museum]

In August, a retrospective of Kim Chang-yeul will be held at the same venue. This exhibition will illuminate the creative journey of Kim, widely known as the water drop painter, covering his early works, his New York period, his time in France, and his later years, encompassing his entire artistic world. At the Deoksugung branch, a special exhibition on surrealist modern art will be held in April, exploring the flow and experimental spirit of Korean surrealism.

In May, the Gwacheon branch will open exhibitions titled 'Korean Art 1900-1960' and 'Korean Art 1960-1990,' while the Seoul branch will host an exhibition on Korean contemporary art. These exhibitions will trace approximately 100 years of Korean modern and contemporary art history. Presented as permanent exhibitions of modern art, they will feature a large number of works from the MMCA’s collection and the Lee Kun-hee Collection, adding depth to the curation.

In November, the Gwacheon branch will hold a solo exhibition of Shin Sang-ho, a pioneer of Korean contemporary ceramics, and in December, the Deoksugung branch will host a retrospective of Lee Dae-won, known as the painter of farms.

Blanket, My Grand Narrative_Weeping on the Rock, 2005.
[Photo courtesy of Leeum Museum of Art]

Leeum Museum of Art will open in February with a solo exhibition of French artist Pierre Huyghe. Huyghe is known for his interdisciplinary approach addressing various issues in contemporary society. The exhibition will include 14 major works such as video, sound, sculpture, and installations.

In September, a large-scale survey exhibition of artist Lee Bul will be held. It will cover Lee Bul’s 40-year artistic career, from early karaoke works to the cyborg series and the 'Mon Grand Recit' series initiated after 2005.

Geumgangjeondo of Jeongseon.
Photo by Hoam Museum of Art

Hoam Art Museum will host a Jeong Seon exhibition in April. Organized in collaboration with the Kansong Art and Culture Foundation, this exhibition will showcase over 120 representative works of Jeong Seon, including the national treasure 'Geumgangjeondo.' In August, a large-scale retrospective of Louise Bourgeois, well-known for the large spider sculpture 'Maman,' will be held. This exhibition will include Bourgeois’ early paintings and works being shown in Korea for the first time.

International Gallery is also preparing notable exhibitions this year. In March, a solo exhibition of artist Ha Chong-hyun’s recent works will be held, and in September, solo exhibitions of Louise Bourgeois and Gala Porras-Kim, the 2023 MMCA Artist of the Year awardee, will be held simultaneously. Gala Porras-Kim is recognized for her focus on how intangible heritage is defined and managed within artificial contexts.

Jang Hyung-hyun, Junction, 1974, Oil on paper, 120 x 175 cm. [Photo by Leeum Museum of Art]

At the end of the year, solo exhibitions of Jang Pa, widely known for 'feminine grotesque,' and Daniel Boyd, who offers new perspectives through autonomous research on biological roots while cautioning against Eurocentric romantic historical narratives, will be presented.

The Amorepacific Museum of Art will present the 'Joseon Minhwa Exhibition' (tentative title) in March, a special exhibition that highlights Joseon dynasty folk paintings from a modern perspective, showcasing over 120 folk paintings from 16 institutions.

8-panel folding screen with calligraphy (above), 8-panel folding screen with Chaekgeori (below). [Photo provided by Amorepacific Museum of Art]

In August, the first solo exhibition in Korea of American abstract art master Mark Bradford will be held. Bradford is regarded as one of the most influential contemporary artists, known for his unique surface treatments on massive canvases.

From February to April, the Art Sonje Center will hold 'Ha Chong-hyun 5975,' focusing on Ha Chong-hyun’s early works. This exhibition, opening a month earlier than the solo exhibition at International Gallery, will highlight how the artist’s early works shaped his artistic world. Ha Chong-hyun invented a unique technique called 'back pressure method (背壓法)' in 1974, where he pushes paint from the back of the canvas, starting his 'Conjunction' series using burlap canvas and oil paint, continuing his work to this day.

In May, the center will host the first solo exhibition in Korea of artist Hong Young-in. The exhibition will feature the installation work 'Five Acts,' which depicts important scenes from the history of Korean women’s labor through sewing. From August to December, a large-scale long-term collaborative project exhibition by artist Adrian Villar Rojas, focusing on the Anthropocene and the end of the world, will be introduced.

Shin Sunghee, Installation View of “Whose Story Is This” at MoCA BUSAN, 2023. Photo by Busan Museum of Contemporary Art

Gallery Hyundai will start the new year in February with a solo exhibition of Shin Sung-hee. Shin has built a unique painting world that harmonizes flatness and three-dimensionality, overcoming the limitations of 'flatness' in Korean painting history centered on Dansaekhwa and Minjung art.

In August, a solo exhibition of Kim Min-jung, her first in four years, and a two-person exhibition of Lee Kang-seung and Candice Lin will be held simultaneously. Kim Min-jung has explored East Asian calligraphy and ink painting traditions for over 30 years, expanding them into the language of contemporary abstraction. Lee Kang-seung has worked on uncovering and visualizing the heritage of queer history excluded from the mainstream, while Candice Lin addresses gender, race, and sexuality within the contexts of colonialism, diaspora, anthropology, natural history, feminism, and queer theory through research-based mixed media installations using mold, bacteria, and stains.

The year will conclude with the first collaboration exhibition with artist Lee Woo-sung.

Additionally, various special exhibitions not to be missed will be held at different venues. The Seoul Museum of Art will host a solo exhibition of Kang Myung-hee at its Seosomun main building in March. This exhibition comprehensively illuminates Kang Myung-hee’s artistic world, who emigrated to France in the early 1970s and had limited activity in Korea, offering a chance to appreciate his representative and previously unseen works in Korea.

Myeonghee Kang Mur du voisin, oil on canvas. 2023, 56x65 [Photo by VILLEPIN]

The National Museum of Korea will hold a special exhibition on early Joseon art in June, showcasing over 250 works including calligraphy, Buddhist art, and crafts from the founding of Joseon to the Imjin War. At The Hyundai Seoul ALT.1, an exhibition titled 'Impressionism, from Monet to America' will be held from February, exploring the flow of Impressionism through representative works by French and American Impressionist painters.