The Amorepacific Museum of Art is proud to unveil Elmgreen & Dragset: Spaces, an expansive exhibition showcasing the renowned artist duo’s immersive spatial practice. Opening from September 3, 2024, through February 23, 2025, the exhibition offers an extraordinary journey through five distinct environments designed by Elmgreen & Dragset. This is the first-ever survey of their spatial work and marks their most extensive presentation in Asia to date.
Elmgreen & Dragset have gained international recognition for their unique ability to transform ordinary spaces into thought-provoking installations. By reinterpreting familiar environments, they challenge traditional notions of exhibition-making and invite audiences to engage with art in innovative ways. This exhibition, Spaces, celebrates 30 years of collaboration between Michael Elmgreen (Copenhagen, Denmark; 1961-) and Ingar Dragset (Trondheim, Norway; 1969-), who have worked together as an artist duo since 1995.
Immersive Installations with a Story to Tell
The exhibition showcases five captivating installations, such as a life-sized family house, a community pool, an upscale restaurant, a commercial-style kitchen, and a working artist’s studio. Each environment reflects the duo’s exploration of how spaces shape both public and private experiences.
The family house, titled Shadow House, is an architectural structure that extends the artists’ ongoing investigation into the concept of “home.” It offers a layered narrative, revealing the complexity of domestic life. The public swimming pool, a recurrent motif in their work, comments on the fading presence of communal spaces in contemporary society. Through the creation of a seemingly abandoned pool, Elmgreen & Dragset invite visitors to reflect on the erosion of such civic environments.
In The Cloud, the high-end restaurant, a life-like figure of a young woman engrossed in a FaceTime conversation will appear as the only occupant during regular hours. This installation critiques the modern dining experience, which has become a blend of sensory indulgence and digital interaction. The industrial-style kitchen reflects the convergence of the kitchen with laboratory-like environments, drawing attention to the rise of molecular gastronomy and the scientific turn in fine dining. Lastly, the studio space features the duo’s white-lacquered figurative sculptures engaged in various creative processes, offering a glimpse into the art-making world.
A Unique Visitor Experience
Visitors are invited to explore these spaces and unravel their own interpretations. The installations are imbued with subtle clues and details, allowing guests to construct personal narratives based on the underlying themes present in each environment. Through this interactive approach, Spaces encourages audiences to reflect on the significance of everyday places and the values they represent.
Elmgreen & Dragset have received numerous accolades for their work, including the prestigious Preis der Nationalgalerie at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin (2002). Their large-scale installations, such as Prada Marfa (2005) and Van Gogh’s Ear (2016), have been widely celebrated. They have also received a special mention for their presentation The Collectors at the 53rd Venice Biennale and were selected for London’s Fourth Plinth Commission in 2012.
Exhibition Overview
- Title: Spaces
- Dates: September 3, 2024 (TUE) – February 23, 2025 (SUN)
- Opening Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (Ticket counter closes at 5:00 p.m.)
- Location: Amorepacific Museum of Art, 100 Hangang-daero, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea
- Admission:
- Adults (19 years and above): KRW 18,000
- Students (7-18 years): KRW 14,000
- Children (3-6 years): KRW 9,000
- Babies under 36 months and persons of national merit and those with disabilities: Free
To enhance their experience, visitors can download the free APMA Guide mobile application for audio and visual content related to the exhibition.
Support and Collaborators
This exhibition is supported by the Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA), the Embassy of Denmark in Korea, and brands such as Fritz Hansen, Louis Poulsen, Kohler, and Sulwhasoo. Their contributions have been instrumental in bringing this exhibition to life.
Visitors can explore five immersive installations, including Shadow House, The Amorepacific Pool, and The Cloud, alongside over 50 sculptures by the artist duo. These works offer a rich exploration of contemporary art’s role in interpreting and redefining the spaces we occupy.
