The March 20 public event at Art Sonje Center marks the opening of “Spectrosynthesis Seoul,” a groundbreaking exhibition heralding a radical new chapter in Korean LGBTQ art.
Professor Jongwoo Jeremy Kim will engage in a public conversation with the artist Lee Mingwei at Sonje Art Center in Seoul, South Korea, in conjunction with “Spectrosynthesis Seoul,” an exhibition surveying queer Korean artists in the context of planetary queer visuality. The 90-minute event takes place on March 20, as one of the key talks marking the opening of the exhibition.
“Spectrosynthesis Seoul” is an exhibition that offers a multilayered perspective on LGBTQ+ artists and artists exploring queerness in their work who have led avant-garde practices across temporal, spatial, and institutional boundaries. The term “Spectrosynthesis” is a portmanteau combining the words spectrum—the phenomenon of light dispersing into the colors of the rainbow and a symbol of diversity — and synthesis, which refers to the process of bringing together both ideas and objects, much like photosynthesis. The exhibition examines the currents of contemporary queer art while tracing the topography of queer art in Korea — particularly in Seoul — as it has formed amid the country’s significant political, social, and technological transformations, and the tensions within them. The exhibition is organized by Art Sonje Center with Sunpride Foundation.
Known for his participatory installations that explore the dynamics of human relationships, Lee focuses on themes of trust between strangers, intimacy, and self-awareness. Kim and Lee will discuss the queer intersections of domesticity, hospitality, forgiveness, and Asian masculinity.