Exhibitions | Barakat Gallery

Current

Unglazed
London 25 Jun - 31 Aug 2019 ‘ We in our own human imperfections are repelled by the perfect, since everything is apparent from the start and there is no suggestion of the infinite.’ - S oetsu Yanagi, The Unknown Craftsman ‘The smooth is the signature of the present time. It connects the sculptures of Jeff Koons,... Read more

Past

Gary Hume: Looking and Seeing
Barakat Contemporary, Seoul 5 Jun - 21 Jul 2019 Hume is considered one of the most important painters among the “YBAs” who studied at Goldsmiths, University of London in the late 1980s. Hume is well known for the brilliant colors and sleek surfaces of his works, which are produced in high-gloss paint on aluminum panels. Over time, his works... Read more

Fragility and Nobility: 19th Century Masterpieces of European Glass
Seoul 17 Apr - 31 Jul 2019 To truly appreciate the glass of 19th century Europe, one must understand about its history, economy, and culture. This exhibition was curated as a way of looking at the value of glassware juxtaposed with the complex historical situation of Europe in the 1800s. Among other items, visitors to Fragility and Nobility: 19th Century Masterpieces of European Glass can encounter the Moser collection, beloved by royals; Bohemia-Indian glassware produced for the Indian market; French mosque lamps designed for both the Islamic market and a European market favoring Islamic patterns; and Hispano-Moresque Bohemian glassware combining elements of Spanish and North African culture. Read more

Bygone Empires
London 11 Apr - 18 Jun 2019 On the 11th of April as Britain persists with its tortuous attempts at Brexit, Barakat will open an exhibition that may also serve as a pointed memento mori. Drawing on the immense Barakat Collection of ancient art, ‘Bygone Empires’ assembles an extraordinary group of twelve objects – some grand, some modest – from vanished empires, sometimes revealing uncanny and unexpected refractions of political power, hubris and the fate of civilisations. Curated by the gallery’s new directors Janis Lejins and Isobel Lister, the show aims to rediscover, re-engage and reactivate Barakat’s diverse collection of ancient art for new audiences, young and old. Read more

Jewelry Collection: Between Eternity and History
Seoul 6 Mar - 3 Jun 2019 Barakat Seoul is proud to present the exhibition “Between Eternity and History”, an exhibition that explores further the universal and human aspiration of power through a unique and exclusive type of jewellery, that combines ancient coins crafted, through their contemporary settings. From the ancient times to our days, jewellery has... Read more

Robert Motherwell: Elergy
Barakat Contemporary, Seoul 6 Mar - 12 May 2019 Robert Motherwell was one of the leaders in Abstract Expressionism, the most revolutionary movement in 20thcentury contemporary art. He was one of the first-generation of Abstract Expressionist group known as the New York School alongside Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko. Motherwell is also known as an artist who have made a milestone beyond his work by introducing American to European contemporary art, Dadaism in particular. Read more

Closer
London 10 Feb - 6 Apr 2019 Today we are more connected than ever before but are we any closer?

Despite (or perhaps because of) the dense networking of our society, many still feel lonely and isolated, and finding meaningful relationships in real life, not only online, is perhaps more of a challenge than in previous generations. Given this context, the exhibition aims to look beyond simply being in contact with others and ask what it can mean to be ‘close’ to someone else.

Curated entirely from the extensive Barakat Collection the exhibition unites unique and extraordinary objects spread across 8,000 years of human history and celebrates the diverse ways humans come together; physically, emotionally and spiritually. Implicitly it allows a audience to consider what brings us together, more than what keeps us apart. Read more

Nicky Nodjoumi - Please Sit Down
Barakat Contemporary, Seoul 21 Nov 2018 - 13 Jan 2019 Barakat Contemporary presents Please Sit Down by Iranian-American artist Nicky Nodjoumi from Wednesday, 21st November 2018 until Sunday, 13th January 2019. For over 40 years, Nodjoumi has built a very political and profound artistic world whose theme is the relationship between power and violence. Nodjoumi’s works are housed in major... Read more

Enlightenment and Transcendence
Seoul 21 Nov 2018 - 7 Apr 2019 Barakat Seoul presents the exhibition Enlightenment and Transcendence from Wednesday, November 21, 2018 to Sunday, March 31, 2019. The Sanskrit word ksana is used to refer to the smallest possible unit of time. In Buddhism, it is said that all things undergo an endless cycle, arising and perishing, perishing and... Read more

Shezad Dawood - Leviathan On Sunspots and Whales
Barakat Contemporary, Seoul 1 Sep - 4 Nov 2018 Barakat Contemporary is proud to announce the solo exhibition Leviathan: On Sunspots and Whales by Shezad Dawood, with newly commissioned works including the new film Leviathan Cycle, Episode 4: Jamila, the large textile painting Island inspired by Korean mythology, and the new polychromatic sculpture On Becoming Virtual Octopi designed in... Read more

Nkisi Nkondi Blolo Pombilele: The Arrival of The Gods
Seoul 10 Jul - 12 Aug 2018 The Exhibition Barakat Seoul is proud to present Nkisi Nkondi Blolo pombilele: The Arrival of the Gods, an exhibition from Tuesday, July 10 to Sunday, August 12, 2018, featuring works of African sculpture produced by minority tribes in the 19th and 20th centuries. Barakat’s African sculpture collection consists mainly of... Read more

Jorge Mañes Rubio - Peak of Eternal Light
Barakat Contemporary, Seoul 2 May - 10 Jun 2018 The Exhibition Barakat Seoul is proudly presenting Peak of Eternal Light, a solo exhibition by the Spanish artist Jorge Mañes Rubio (b.1984). Jorge Mañes Rubio considers from an ethnographic point of view themes of vanishing civilization and shamanism, forgotten places and stories of the past, all of which are given... Read more

Performing Letters, Performers of Letters
Seoul 16 Dec 2017 - 11 Feb 2019 Barakat Seoul proudly presents “Performing Letters, Performers of Letters,” an exhibition exploring the points of contact between ancient types of writing and contemporary typography. In Eastern and Western civilization, visual imagery has been at the origin of inscriptions and written communication. Ancients cultures depicted their yearnings as well as aspects... Read more

El Anatsui: Topology of Generosity
Barakat Seoul 27 Sep - 26 Nov 2017 El Anatsui: Topology of Generosity, presented by Barakat Seoul, sheds light on the potential of change that a single artist can generate. El Anatsui’s most representative works are large-scale installations reminiscent of tapestries, created by processing and connecting with copper wire thousands of used caps discarded from the bottles of drinks consumed in Nigeria. He has achieved recognition among the international art circles with these works, receiving the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Venice Biennale and having his works exhibited and collected in renowned galleries and museums around the globe. Read more

The Absence of Paterfamilias - Alex Verhaest, Cho Moon Ki
Barakat Contemporary, Seoul 1 Jun - 6 Aug 2017 The exhibition, The Absence of Paterfamilias, offers the possibility to compare the two artists’ dissimilar methodologies as they approach family portraits that may reflect reality though appear nonetheless strange. Respectively using painting and interactive film in the distant and quite dissimilar cultural spheres of South Korea and Belgium, these two... Read more