2 weekends back I went to Seoul with two of my co-workers. Our main purpose was to go see the musical Elisabeth, but to kill some time we went to the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. I did a quick search to find an art museum in Seoul and this one had be recommended (also it was very close to the musical venue). So kind of by chance we decided to see Su Do Ho’s special exhibit there.
It’s split to 2 floors. The bottom level is the home series where he made various home spaces from sheer fabric. It’s surprising and amazing to look at. I can’t imagine all the time and effort (not to mention trial-and-error) that went into everything. It was interesting. The Korean house spaces I thought quaint. When I saw the New York inspired spaces though my feeling was more towards homesickness. Even though I know everything was made from fabric, I really wanted to be able to touch everything — like somehow I thought the stairs would hold my weight, the door handles would turn, and the shower would turn on. Obviously, being a museum, touching is definitely forbidden. The detail in everything was really amazing though! The building inspection certificate was even stitched on with all of the wording.
The second level was a mixture of miniatures, drawings/paintings, and a video installation. The video “Gate” was rather cool.
This guy really knows how to get exact detail. The miniature house was just…. wow. If you cleaned up the mess (the building has a Korean style house crashed into the side of it), I’d love to put my old dolls inside. I honestly think, even in my twenty’s, I’d play with it.
We didn’t have tons of time, so I didn’t get to explore the rest of the museum, but I hope to go again in the near future.
You can find more info at the museum here – Leeum Samsung Museum of Art
You can get there by going to Hangangjin Station (Subway Line 6), Exit 1. Walk straight for 100m in the direction of Itaewon. Go into the first alley to the right, which will be signposted for the museum, and go up the hill for about 5 minutes.
Oh Happy Dae! 