Seoul’s new modern art museum, Centre Pompidou Hanwha, is hosting South Korea's first-ever exhibition dedicated to Cubism, the influential early 20th-century art movement. The show, titled "The Cubists: Inventing Modern Vision," opened in June and runs through October 4. It marks the inaugural exhibition of the museum, which occupies a renovated annex building adjacent to the iconic 63 Building in Seoul’s financial district.
The exhibition presents 91 works by 43 Cubist artists, including major figures such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, Juan Gris, and Robert Delaunay. All pieces are drawn from the collection of the Pompidou Center in Paris, with which the Korean venue has established a four-year partnership to present two exhibitions annually, alongside shows featuring modern and contemporary Korean and international art.
Cubism emerged in the early 1900s as a revolutionary art movement largely shaped by Braque and Picasso. The style was influenced by new museum displays of African and Oceanic art in Paris as well as the legacy of post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne. One of the exhibition's highlights is Braque’s 1908 painting “The Viaduct at L’Estaque,” a work that originally drew the critical description of “cubes” and helped to define the movement. The exhibition also features Picasso’s “Bust of a Woman” (1907), connected to his seminal painting “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” as well as works from the analytic Cubism phase (1909–1911), which deconstructed subjects into geometric planes and shapes.
The show extends beyond Picasso and Braque to include vibrant and representational Cubist paintings by artists like Robert Delaunay and Fernand Léger, as well as works by female artists such as Marie Laurencin, Sonia Delaunay, and Natalia Goncharova. The opening piece, “The Large Horse,” is a 1914 bronze sculpture by Raymond Duchamp-Villon, depicting a mechanized horse and rider. Although the sculptor died before realizing the full-sized version, his brother Marcel Duchamp later oversaw its production, and it is considered a major contribution to 20th-century sculpture.
Centre Pompidou Hanwha also dedicates a “Korea Focus” section to Korean modern artists such as Lee Soo-auk, Ham Dae-jung, and Park Rehyun, who engaged with Cubist techniques during the 1950s. Jade Keunhyo Lim, director of exhibitions at the Hanwha Foundation of Culture, which coordinated the partnership, emphasized the institution’s role as a "two-way channel for cultural exchange between France and Korea." Lim highlighted the importance of showcasing Korean and Asian contributions alongside Western masters, aiming to foster a more inclusive and decolonial narrative of modern art.
The establishment of the Centre Pompidou Hanwha coincides with significant developments in the South Korean art scene, which has been shifting from public sector dominance toward greater engagement by private galleries, conglomerates, and international art fairs such as Frieze Seoul, launched in 2022.
From the Pompidou Center’s perspective, the partnership supports its international expansion strategy amid a five-year, $500 million redevelopment of its flagship Paris museum, which closed in 2025. Julie Narbey, general manager of the Pompidou, noted that overseas affiliates—including those in Malaga, Shanghai, Brussels, and Seoul—help generate approximately $26 million annually. These collaborations not only promote cultural exchange and local artists but also provide essential funding to sustain operations and investments in Paris. The Seoul venue contributes financially to the redevelopment project but not to its own operational costs, illustrating a shared benefit for both institutions.
Overall, the exhibition and the broader Pompidou Hanwha endeavor illustrate a growing interconnection between Korean and global art institutions, aiming both to educate audiences about Cubism’s legacy and to enhance international cultural dialogue.