In 2024, the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) has announced its major exhibition plans. The overarching theme leading the entirety of the Seoul Museum of Art in 2024 is ‘connection,’ with the exhibition theme being ‘architecture.’ Operating multiple branches, including the Seosomun Main Branch, Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, Nam-Seoul Museum of Art, and Art Archive, the Seoul Museum of Art plans to showcase a diverse range of exhibitions and programs through its guiding theme for 2024.

As a key exhibition in 2024, SeMA will host a large-scale curated exhibition themed around its extensive collection. This exhibition, scheduled to take place across all branches of the Seoul Museum of Art (Seosomun Main Branch, Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, Nam-Seoul Museum of Art, and Art Archive), contemplates the theme of ‘connection’ in terms of genres, mediums, time, generations, and societal perspectives.

The first exhibition in line with the theme ‘architecture’ is the solo exhibition of the renowned British architect Norman Foster, scheduled to take place from April 18 to July 14, 2024, at the Seosomun Main Branch. Norman Foster, a recipient of the Pritzker Prize in 1999, has been contemplating the future of architecture through the lens of sustainability since the 1960s. This exhibition is a collaborative effort between the Seoul Museum of Art and Foster + Partners.

Another exhibition related to the ‘architecture’ theme is the solo exhibition of artist Sung Hwan Kim, scheduled from December 19, 2024, to March 30, 2025. The exhibition marks Kim’s first solo exhibition in a Korean public art museum. In this exhibition, the artist will unveil the third new video from his ongoing multidisciplinary research series ???? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????? (started in 2017), a collection of videos, books, and installations based on the artist’s research on Koreans who immigrated to the U.S. in the early 20th century. The exhibition explores how language, narrative, space, and time are connected, intersect, vary, and develop specific contexts through structures, systems, and logic.

At the Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, an exhibition featuring the collection of the Van Abbe Museum will run from April 23 to August 4, 2024, examining the trends and meanings of early 2000s contemporary art through art historical trends. In June, contemporary artist Meekyoung Shin will have a solo exhibition at the children’s museum, connecting the symbol of angels with the transparency and fragrance of soap. At the Seoul Museum of Art Archives, from May to August, there will be an exhibition showcasing the works collection of artist Honggoo Kang.

In 2024, two new public art museums are set to open: the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art and the SeMA Photo Art Museum. The Seo-Seoul Museum of Art, Southwestern Seoul’s first public art museum, emphasizes digital and media art. The SeMA Photo Art Museum, set to open in May in Chang-dong, establishes the first specialized public art museum in Korea dedicated to photography.

References

• 서울시립미술관(Seoul Museum of Art, SeMA)