Leeum Museum of Art – Maurizio Cattelan Exhibition in Seoul (Free)

Introducing the Leeum Museum of Art, one of Korea’s premier art museums. Created by the Samsung Cultural Foundation, this private art museum is known for its collection that is comparable to that of the National Museum of Art.

Established in 2004 in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Leeum Museum is a representative art museum in Korea where traditional and contemporary art coexist. It is located at the foot of Namsan Mountain in Hannam-dong, with a view of the Han River. The museum consists of MUSEUM 1 and MUSEUM 2, which showcase antique and contemporary art.

The Leeum Museum of Art is located in Itaewon, Hannam-dong, where many tourists visit, so it is a good place to visit while traveling around the area.

• Address : 60-16 Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
• Opening Hours : 10:00 ~ 18:00 (Closed on monday)

The exhibition of the works of Maurizio Cattelan special exhibition begins at the entrance of the Leeum Museum of Art. If you don’t know, you might think you’re really homeless.

Due to the popularity of the current Maurizio Cattelan exhibition, admission is only available with a reservation. Initially, on-site ticketing was also possible, but starting from February 14, visitors must make an online reservation in advance to enter. When I visited the Leeum Museum of Art, I was able to enter after presenting my reservation details.

<Reservation : Leeum Museum of Art>

Reservations can be made through the Leeum Museum of Art website up to two weeks in advance. Reservations open on the website at 6:00 PM Korean time. Although many people can enter the museum, the number of people who can book the tickets quickly decreases. Therefore, if you truly want to see this exhibition, we recommend reserving your tickets two weeks in advance. I was able to make my reservation two weeks in advance.

For reference, tickets for the next day are cancelled at midnight.

Currently, admission to the Leeum Museum of Art is free. In addition to the Maurizio Cattelan exhibition, you can view all of Leeum’s exhibitions, including the Antique Permanent Exhibition, without charge. However, please note that the admission fee may vary depending on the exhibition, so check before making a reservation.

In the museum lobby, you can get a free audio guide by presenting your ID. Next, you will receive an audio guide device that you can wear around your neck, along with wireless bone conduction earphones.

The device is set to automatically recognize the location and introduce the exhibition when you approach a artwork. However, due to the large number of people in the exhibition hall, I often had to manually select and listen to the explanation because the device couldn’t recognize the artwork. Additionally, the sound of the bone conduction headset, which was connected via Bluetooth, was sometimes interrupted. Despite these issues, I was still able to appreciate the works while listening to explanations about pieces I was unfamiliar with, so I was satisfied with the experience.

• Exhibition period : 2023.01.31 ~ 2023.07.16

This is the first solo exhibition in Korea of Maurizio Cattelan, one of the world’s most controversial contemporary artists, featuring a total of 38 works. In particular, this exhibition is free to enter. Because of its immense popularity, you must make a reservation to see it. Even on the day I went to the exhibition, even though it was a weekday, it was crowded with people coming to see the exhibition.

The exhibition fills the first to third floors.

It is said that the floor of the Leeum Museum of Art was actually dug for this work.

There were also works that gave a creepy feeling, such as hanging a real horse corpse on the ceiling.

You can also see “Comedian,” a piece of taped banana sold for $120,000.

In addition to the Maurizio Cattelan exhibition, you can see the artifacts owned by the Leeum Museum of Art. It is fun to see each of the works on display here as relics that are very valuable to Korea.

You can also take a look at the beauty of the building of the Leeum Museum itself.

The souvenir shop of the Leeum Museum of Art was selling works by various artists.

I’m glad to share with you some information about the Leeum Museum of Art, a famous art museum located in Seoul, South Korea. The museum is well-known for holding high-level exhibitions every time, so it’s definitely worth checking out. If you’re interested in art, I highly recommend visiting at least once. Even if the museum is not currently holding a Maurizio Cattelan exhibition, there are still plenty of great works of art to admire. Have fun exploring!