Seoul: Centre Pompidou Hanwha, a new art museum created in partnership with France's Centre Pompidou, will open in Seoul on June 4, featuring works by Pablo Picasso and other leading Cubist artists, the Hanwha Foundation of Culture said on Monday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the museum has been created through the remodeling of the annex of the city's landmark 63 Building. The four-story museum includes two exhibition halls covering about 1,650 square meters. French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, known for his work on the Louvre renovation and Incheon International Airport, designed the space with a "box of light" concept that incorporates natural daylight and emits a soft glow at night.
The inaugural exhibition, "Cubists: Pioneers of Vision," will display about 90 works by 40 artists, including Picasso, Georges Braque, Fernand Leger, and Juan Gris. A large ballet stage curtain created by Picasso will be shown in South Korea for the first time.
The foundation plans to organize exhibitions through 2027 based on the Pompidou's collection, highlighting the major trends of 20th-century modern art featuring artists such as Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, Henri Matisse, and Constantin Brancusi.
"Centre Pompidou Hanwha will serve as an open museum connecting art, technology, and the future, offering a new experience of encountering global art collections in everyday Seoul," said foundation Chairman Lee Sung-soo in a release.