Lee Kang-so's 'Rising and Vanishing' at Lotte Museum: A Visitor's Guide

'Rising and Vanishing,' a solo exhibition by Lee Kang-so — one of the leading figures of Korean contemporary art — runs from August 21 to November 1 at Lotte Museum in Jamsil (잠실), Seoul. Coming not long after his major retrospective at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), which surveyed 51 years of his career, this new solo show is news art lovers won't want to miss.

Exhibition Overview

Lee Kang-so first made a name for himself through the so-called 'AG Group,' active during the birth of Korea's experimental art movement in the 1970s. Moving freely across installation, sculpture, painting, photography, and video, he has consistently been praised for treating the process created by action, time, and space — rather than the finished result — as the work itself. His pieces have been shown at major institutions abroad, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2019), Tate Modern (2012–2013), the Brooklyn Museum (1981), and the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris (1975), so it's no surprise he's often described as an elder statesman of the art world.

From November 2024 through April 2025, the MMCA Seoul held his large-scale retrospective 《Lee Kang-so: Wind Comes, Water Ripples》, surveying his 51-year career. This new solo exhibition at Lotte Museum picks up where that retrospective left off, offering a fresh, present-day look at his body of work. The exhibition's title, 'Rising and Vanishing,' also reads as a distillation of his long-held artistic outlook — one centered on repeated creation and disappearance rather than any fixed form.

Details

• Location: Lotte Museum (7th floor, Lotte World Tower, Songpa-gu, Seoul; accessible via the Avenuel department store near Jamsil Station)
• Dates: August 21 – November 1, 2026
• Admission: Reportedly KRW 40,000 for early bird tickets; regular pricing and youth rates need to be checked separately on the official website.
• Tickets: Available through the Lotte Museum official website ticket page or third-party platforms such as Interpark.

Viewing hours will likely follow Lotte Museum's usual operating schedule unless stated otherwise, though hours are sometimes adjusted during special exhibitions — it's safer to double-check through official channels before you go.

Visiting Tips

With the exhibition running for a generous two and a half months, from late August to early November, there's no need to rush — you can pick a visiting date at your own pace. Since Lotte Museum sits inside Lotte World Tower, it's easy to build a day around a trip to Jamsil or some shopping, and you can get there directly via the Avenuel wing from Jamsil Station on Subway Line 2. Because the show spans everything from painting to installation and video work, it's worth setting aside plenty of time to take it all in — and if you've already seen the MMCA retrospective, comparing the two should be its own kind of fun. Early bird tickets may sell out ahead of schedule, so if you've settled on a date, it's a good idea to book soon.