Shows to See in Seoul, April 2025
By THE EDITORS
As Art Basel Hong Kong (ABHK) came to a close on March 30, drawing the curtain on a vibrant art week, Seoul’s boutique art fair ART OnO is set to offer an intimate contrast. Its second edition—taking place from April 11–13 at the Seoul Trade Exhibition & Convention Center—will showcase a wide range of art across various media by renowned blue-chip artists, as well as emerging local and overseas participants. As international galleries continue to expand their presence in the South Korean capital, adding to the region’s flourishing art scene, here are AAP editors’ highlights for shows to see in Seoul this month.
PIERRE HUYGHE, Liminal, 2024, still image of film, real time simulation, sound, sensors. Courtesy the artist; Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris; Marian Goodman Gallery, New York/Paris/Los Angeles; Hauser & Wirth, London; Esther Schipper, Berlin/Paris/Seoul; TARO NASU, Tokyo; and Anna Lena Films.
Leeum Museum of Art
Pierre Huyghe
Liminal
Feb 27–Jul 6, 2025
For his solo exhibition “Liminal” at the Leeum Museum of Art, French conceptualist Pierre Huyghe presents 12 works that probe the boundaries between reality and fantasy, the human and nonhuman, animals and machines. Along with new, AI-infused projects co-commissioned by Venice’s Punta della Dogana, such as the eponymous film Liminal (2024– ), the show highlights famous works from the past decade of Huyghe’s practice, including Human Mask (2014) and Offspring (2018)—all of which embody the artist’s ongoing interest in the convergence of humanity and technology.
Installation view of "Ha Chong-Hyun" at Kukje Gallery, Seoul, 2025. Courtesy Kukje Gallery.
Kukje Gallery
Ha Chong-Hyun
Mar 20–May 11, 2025
Korean modernist Ha Chong-Hyun—who rose to prominence in the 1970s as a leading figure of the Dansaekhwa movement—presents his fourth solo show with Kukje Gallery. Among the approximately 30 works on view, highlights include paintings from his renowned Conjunction series (1974– ) alongside the more recent Post-Conjunction series (2009– ), demonstrating his continued experimentation with oil paint and other materials—such as hanji (traditional Korean paper), cotton, hemp, and canvas fabric. From the earthy and monochromatic palettes of earlier works to the increasingly colorful and vibrant gestures that characterize his more naturalistic recent paintings, the exhibition reflects Ha’s ever-evolving practice over the last half-century.
Installation view of WAEL SHAWSKY’s Al Aqsa Park, 2006, video animation: 10 min, at Barakat Contemporary, Seoul, 2025. Photo by Jeon Byeong Chul. Courtesy Barakat Contemporary.
Barakat Contemporary
Wael Shawky
Telematch and Other Stories
Feb 28–Apr 27, 2025
Returning to Barakat Contemporary for his second solo exhibition, “Telematch and Other Stories,” Egyptian-born artist Wael Shawky showcases seminal video projects that explore the influence of popular media on sociopolitical, religious, and gender norms. Through a critical yet playful approach that merges reality with fiction, Shawky reimagines historical narratives, addressing East-West tensions in works like The Cave (Amsterdam) (2005), Al Aqsa Park (2006), and the titular Telematch series (2007–09).
SHIN MIN, Usual Suspects, 2025, pencil on paper, 130 × 1500 cm. Courtesy P21, Seoul.
P21
Shin Min
EW! Hair in My Food!
Apr 12–May 17, 2025
After clinching the inaugural MGM Discoveries Art Prize at this year’s Art Basel Hong Kong, Korean artist Shin Min debuts an array of sculptures and drawings for her solo exhibition “Ew! Hair in My Food!” at P21. In this series, Min examines the societal contempt for hair, focusing on the stringent regulations of women’s hair and hygiene in the service industry. Crafted from discarded potato fry packaging, Min’s exaggerated sculptural forms of female laborers in uniforms and hairnets draw upon the artist’s experience of working in fast food corporations, probing deeper issues of gender, class, and labor.
