Amorepacific Museum of Art is pleased to present LAWRENCE WEINER: UNDER THE SUN, the solo museum survey of the remarkable American artist Lawrence Weiner(1942-2021).

This is his inaugural solo presentation in both South Korea and in Asia as well as the first comprehensive show within an institutional context since his passing in 2021.

Born in Bronx, New York and has lived and worked in Amsterdam and New York City, Weiner emerged among a generation of pioneering post-war artists, namely Carl Andre, Robert Barry, Dan Flavin, Joseph Kosuth, Sol Lewitt and Robert Ryman, all founding figures of Minimal and Conceptual art in the 1960s. His early works include experiments in painting, sculptures and architecture. From the late 1960s, he utilized language as the material for his sculptural practice, which he termed as ‘language sculpture’, and sought to challenge the definitions and boundaries of art.

On view are 47 of Weiner’s best exemplified language sculptures. Under the themes of “Subject-Object’, ‘Process’ and ‘Simultaneous Realities’, this exhibition attempts to create a space for new visual dialogues that transcend historical time and cultural space by bringing together Weiner’s art with select pieces from our Korean art collection. Weiner’s language functions both as the point of entry and departure to engage with these works. We hope that his words, when presented in this context, provide an occasion where our attitudes towards history, culture and the world can be challenged and expanded.

The language of Lawrence Weiner is not confined to any specific context nor to a prescribed meaning or presentation. It remains open to personal and collective interpretations that operate within and sensitively respond to the specificities of the culture in which his works are located at any given time. 7 works including AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE (1998) are presented in both Korean and English, exploring the expansiveness of interpretation that transcends the boundaries between language and culture.

In addition to the 47 language sculptures, edition works, drawings, posters, motion drawings and video works are also presented to collectively illustrate the breadth of his extensive artistic practice. From the early works produced in 1970s such as SMASHED TO PIECES (IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT) (1971), TO SEE AND BE SEEN (1972), works such as AN OBJECT TOSSED FROM ONE COUNTRY TO ANOTHER (1988), UNDER THE SUN (1999/2000), AS TO BE IN PLAIN SIGHT (2009) and his works produced in 2020 ON VIEW and REMOVED FROM VIEW are collectively presented to shed light on the 60 years of the artist’s practice.

The Amorepacific Museum of Art sincerely hopes that this occasion will present an opportunity to its visitors where their perception and perspective on the world, culture and history would be expanded.