Co-organized by the Seoul Museum of Art and Tate of the UK

A special exhibition presenting the magnificent history of ‘light,’ running through May 8

The Seoul Museum of Art (Director Baek Jisuk) is presenting <Light: A Special Exhibition from Tate, UK>, part of its Masterpieces from Overseas Collections series, at the Buk-Seoul Museum of Art through May 8.

This special exhibition takes ‘light’ as its theme. Light has been an object of inquiry not only for scientists but also for philosophers, artists, and poets, each of whom, in their own distinct way, has shaped how we today understand, capture, and represent the effects of light. The exhibition features 110 works by 43 artists. Drawn from the collection of Tate in the UK, these works span a range of eras, places, and media, reaching to every corner of the world today. The exhibition is divided into 16 sections in total, beginning with <Light, God’s Creation>.

<Light, God’s Creation> presents works by artists who explored light in a religious sense, such as William Blake and Anish Kapoor, while <Light, an Object of Study> and <Liliane Lijn Realizes the Physics of Light> showcase works absorbed in the light of modern and contemporary physics. <The Impression of Light> features Claude Monet and Impressionism, and <Traces of Light> features works by artists who gathered to probe the properties of light, such as László Moholy-Nagy and the Bauhaus. <Light and the Cosmos> and <James Turrell Experiences the Sublime Through Light> present works by contemporary artists who used light itself as a material, including Olafur Eliasson and James Turrell.

Among the notable representative artists in the <Light> special exhibition is Olafur Eliasson. Centering on the theme of pseudo nature, Eliasson has continued to create environmentally engaged work inspired by nature—the sun, glaciers (ice), waterfalls, moss, light and shadow, fog, the orbits of celestial bodies, and more. Having installed a large artificial sun titled <The Weather Project (2003)> in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, Eliasson presents in this exhibition <Cosmic Dust Particle (2014)>, an installation in which light scatters through an enormous glass structure.

Seoul Museum of Art Director Baek Jisuk said, “I am delighted to hold a Masterpieces from Overseas Collections exhibition for the first time at the Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, located in Nowon-gu,” adding, “Since this is an exhibition that parents in the northeastern region have long hoped to see, I hope it will offer many children and young people the chance to view and learn from it.”

A newly opened <Light> special exhibition gift shop on the first floor offers a variety of stationery, souvenirs, and other items featuring works by the masters. Photo zones have been set up at the museum entrance and on the second floor, and a new rest area, <Lounge>, has been created on the third floor to provide a space to relax after viewing the exhibition. 070-8691-1883

▲ Bridget Riley, ‘Nataraja’

▲ Yayoi Kusama, ‘The Passing Winter’


▲ Olafur Eliasson, ‘Cosmic Dust Particle’