Material matters
As Frieze Seoul returns for its third outing, here’s our pick of the museum exhibitions not to miss while you’re in town
Connecting Bodies: Asian Women Artists
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul 3 September–3 March 2025
In 1995, the Chinese artist Yin Xiuzhen made blocks of ice using water from a polluted river in Chengdu, then asked passers-by on its banks to try and wash them clean. This exercise in futility is Washing River (pictured), one of the highlights of the MMCA’s exhibition of work by women artists from across Asia from the 1960s to today; other artists whose work is on show include Arahmaiani, Atsuko Tanaka, Pacita Abad and Hong Lee Hyun-sook.
Elmgreen & Dragset: Spaces
Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul 3 September–23 February 2025
The appropriately named ‘Spaces’ consists of five set-piece installations: a family house rendered at full scale; a public pool; a restaurant; a kitchen; and an artist’s studio. Together, these spaces hold more than 60 sculptures by the Scandinavian duo Elmgreen & Dragset, making it their largest exhibition in Asia to date.
Anicka Yi: There Exists Another Evolution, But in This One
Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul 5 September–29 December
Given that Anicka Yi is best-known for the unexpected materials that appear in her work – ranging from kombucha bacteria to boiled sandals – there’s no telling quite what visitors will find here. In the spring, the Korean-American artist’s first solo show at an Asian museum will travel to the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing.
Do Ho Suh: Speculations
Art Sonje Center, Seoul Until 3 November
In his long-running Speculation Project (2005–), Do Ho Suh gives expression to ideas that are impossible to realise – a Korean house transported to the United States by a tornado, say. These scenarios appear in doll’s-house-like models, diagrams and animations. Other highlights of this show include films about housing complexes in London and Daegu.