[ART]The Embodied Spirit, White Cube

The Embodied Spirit

White Cube, Seoul

June 2023

Along with the excitement of Kiaf and Frieze Seoul this year, there are numerous international galleries setting up shop in Seoul in a bid to get in on the action of the liveliest art market city in Asia.

White Cube, the renowned gallery founded by Jay Joplin in London in the early 90s, is one of the latest to open a new gallery space in the city. Their first exhibition, "The Embodied Spirit", is a bold start and something of a statement in what is a heavily male-dominated and essentially a sexist society: an all-female line-up of global and local talent exploring themes of philosophy and human existence.

Curated by Susan May, formerly a curator at Tate Modern in the UK, this show brings together the work of Christine Ay Tjoe, Marguerite Humeau, Louise Giovanelli, Lee Jinju, Katharina Fritsch and the formidable Tracey Emin, whose five pieces take up most of the back space of the gallery.

Emin’s work was completed in the last year while recovering from cancer and a severe operation which has altered her life and perspective in numerous way. To see these paintings in person is a profound experience, but if you are hoping to take one home, it’s already too late as the works have been sold at around 800,000 USD a piece. Admission to White Cube, however, is free.

The Embodied Spirit runs from 5 September–21 December, 2023 at White Cube Seoul, 6 Dosan-daero 45-gil, Gangnam-gu. 

Instagram: @whitecube