Installation view of 《Where Writing Breathes》 ⓒ Seoul Museum of Art
Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) presents 《Where
Writing Breathes》, an exhibition exploring its 2026
institutional theme of “creation,” on view at the Buk-Seoul Museum of Art
through July 12.
Taking as its point of departure the common perception of the
artist as a writer, this exhibition approaches artistic creation through the
lens of writing and focuses on the texts produced by artists.
The exhibition title “Where Writing Breathes” implies the
gestures of writing that take on various forms of movement, metaphorically
evoking the vitality of text as it passes through the artist’s body and unfolds
in the exhibition space.
Bringing together ten artists/artist teams who traverse the
boundaries between literature and fine art, Where Writing Breathes illuminates
a creative field in which the acts of writing and reading form the very basis
of both making and experiencing artworks.
Installation view of 《Where Writing Breathes》 ⓒ Seoul Museum of Art
Why do artists write? From a hastily scribbled word or a brief
sentence to poetry, fiction, essays, scripts, and song lyrics, their writing
reveals distinct textures and sensibilities. For these artists, writing serves
both as a means of capturing fleeting inspiration and as a crucial tool that
enables thoughts, once intangible, to take material form and are realized as
artworks.
Some texts are visualized into painting or sculpture; others
take on rhythm and sound, becoming music or kinetic performance art. At times,
writing appears as a system of signs that conveys meaning; at others, it
emerges in the form of narrative literature. As both the point of departure and
the structural framework of artistic practice, writing is continuously
transformed across diverse artistic modes, expanding into multidimensional
narratives beyond the text itself.
Installation view of 《Where Writing Breathes》 ⓒ Seoul Museum of Art
The art that emerges through writing bears the accumulated time
of creation by artists who have long sought to give intimate language to their
own thoughts and questions, shaping them into their work. In a world where
almost everything, it seems, can be generated instantly, the value of writing
as an artform, which demands patience and perseverance, shines all the more
brightly.
Participating Artists: Keem Youngle, Noh
Seokmee, Seoul Express, Ahn Kwanghwee, Ahn Kyuchul, Eom Yujeong, Lee Minsun,
Cha Jiryang, Cha Hyelim, Cho Sohee
