Sejin Song, Passing Present and Preserving Past, 2024, Single-channel video, 4K, 7min 47sec. Courtesy of the artist ⓒ Art Sonje Center
Art Sonje Center will present 《Spectrosynthesis Seoul》 from March 20 to June 28, 2026. As the first large-scale
institutional exhibition of queer art to be held in Korea, the exhibition
brings together the works of 74 artists and collectives from Korea and abroad
who have engaged with queer themes and sustained avant-garde practices across
boundaries of time, space, and institutions.
《Spectrosynthesis Seoul》 is organized in
collaboration between Art Sonje Center and the Hong Kong–based Sunpride
Foundation, which was established in 2014 to support the LGBTQ+ community. The
exhibition marks the fourth edition of the “Spectrosynthesis” series, following
previous presentations at the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (2017), Bangkok
Art and Culture Centre (2019), and Tai Kwun in Hong Kong (2022).
Drawing from the foundation’s collection as well as works by
multigenerational artists active across different regions, the exhibition
weaves together the currents of contemporary queer art through the lens of
Seoul as its central site.
Inhwan Oh, Where He Meets Him, Seoul, 2020, Incense powder, 436x618cm, Installation view of 《The Moment of ㄱ》 (Seoul Arts Center’s Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum, 2019-2020). Courtesy of the artist © Art Sonje Center
Staged in Seoul, the exhibition maps the landscape of LGBTQ+ art
by presenting a range of works—from earlier pieces to newly commissioned
projects—revealing the distinct approaches and practices through which each
artist has explored queerness.
This exhibition expands Art Sonje Center in its entirety into a
space of transition, newly transforming not only the conventional galleries but
also the lobby, art hall, corridors, and other in-between or unused areas into
new exhibition sites. From the basement to the first floor, the exhibition
interprets the concept of “trans” as a catalyst for death and transformation
arising through encounters with new bodies, and features experimental new
commissions alongside recent works.
The second floor primarily highlights artists from the
collection of Hong Kong’s Sunpride Foundation as it introduces key works
through which visitors can explore the history of queer art both in Korea and
around the world. Finally, the third floor of the exhibition focuses on the
ever-emerging present of Korean queer art through three distinct themes:
memory, place, and form.
Installation view of Dew Kim’s solo exhibition 《Dear Fear》 (out_sight, 2020). Photo: Cho Junyong. © Art Sonje Center
Artistic Director Sunjung Kim, who oversaw the exhibition, has
noted that in recontextualizing works from the foundation’s collection, she
referred to a list of artworks selected by the artist Sung Hwan Kim for a text
included in the exhibition catalogue, which was based on his personal
experiences and sensibilities.
In addition, Yongwoo Lee—a media cultural historian and
professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong—was invited as a curator to
develop a dedicated section highlighting queer spatiotemporality within Korean
society. Throughout the exhibition period, a series of talks and lectures
featuring sociologists, literary critics, and art historians will also be held,
expanding the discursive framework of the exhibition.
《Spectrosynthesis Seoul》 examines forms of
queerness shaped within the tensions of Korea’s major political, social, and
technological transformations, revealing the multilayered terrain of queer art
that diverges and intersects like a spectrum of light. By bringing attention to
queer sensibilities and voices that have not been sufficiently visible in
Korean society, the exhibition proposes new perspectives for reinterpreting
contemporary society through the avant-garde practices and imaginative
possibilities cultivated within queer art.
