Heading: Jung Kangja, Muche-Jeon ⓒ Cheolki Hong. Leeum Museum of Art
Inside Other Spaces: Environments by Women Artists 1956-1976. Conceived by Haus der Kunst Munich in 2023, has opened at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul. The show gathers reconstructions of 11 works by prominent female artists who are frequently overlooked by art history. In line with the original concept of the exhibition, the visitors are encouraged to engage with the works in a variety of ways, whether through touching, walking, or entering the artworks. That way, the show engages all senses: sight, sound, touch, and the viewer’s entire body.
From environments to installations
Originally adopted by Italian-Argentinian artist Lucio Fontana, the term environment is originally used to describe immersive art installations, which encourage viewers to enter to experience them in full. Over time, the term was replaced with the word installation. The exhibition focused on the works of women spanning two decades, between 1956 and 1976, a time in history when women’s art was excluded from historical narratives.
International and local artists
The event will showcase reconstructions of large-scale works from Europe, Asia, North and South America. The oldest environment on view is the 1956 piece by Tsuruko Yamazaki entitled Red. Alongside works from the original exhibition designed by Haus der Kunst, the Leeum Museum includes several works from local artists, including Jung Kangja, Marian Zazeela, Jung Hee Choi, and La Monte Young.
Time of restoration and continuation
For instance, the show presents Muche-Jeon (Incorporeal Exhibition) by Jung Kangja, an artist known for rejecting traditional artistic conventions, by including sound, light, and tactile elements. The art piece by Kangja will be on view for the first time since 1970. A multigenerational artwork, Dream House, originally conceived in 1962 by designer Marian Zazeela in partnership with musician La Monte Young, will be exhibited in its latest rendition, enriched in 2003 by Jung Hee Choi.
Renamed Leeum 26 IV 29 Seoul Dream House: Sound and Light Environment, this immersive installation incorporates shifting lights and continuous sine-wave frequencies. By juxtaposing two works, one reintroduced after 56 years and the other, which continuously reinvents itself, the show powerfully portrays two different times: “time of restoration“, and a “time of continuation“.
Rooms full of feathers and colourful tunnels
As its name suggests, Feather Room by Judy Chicago invites visitors to play in a space full of feathers. Lea Lublin’s Penetración/Expulsión (del Fluvio Subtunal) consists of colourful tubes visitors can use as a tunnel, while Aleksandra Kasuba will present a green-coloured tunnel-like artwork entitled Spectral Passage.
Archival materials at Leeum Museum of Art
The exhibition also includes works by Lygia Clark, Laura Grisi, Marta Minujín, Tania Mouraud, and Nanda Vigo. The artwork will be accompanied by archival material, including photographs, letters, architectural plans, and reviews, to faithfully recreate the original presentations. Inside Other Spaces: Environments by Women Artists 1956–1976 opened on May 5 at Leeum Museum of Art and will run through November 29, 2026.
Through a focus on women artists who embraced new media practices, the exhibition expands the established narrative of art history. The show transforms visitors from passive observers into active participants by inviting them to interact with the exhibited works. By presenting reconstructions, Inside Other Spaces: Environments by Women Artists 1956-1976 additionally challenges existing exhibition models, which rely on the shipping of original artworks across continents.
