The Leeum Museum of Art, the top private art museum of Korea, started its first schedule of the year with a prestigious exhibition of Maurizio Cattelan, one of the most disputed artists in the modern art world. The exhibition is so popular that the tickets are fully booked almost right after the reservation is opened. Italian artist Cattelan’s best-known work is “Comedian”, a banana duct-taped to a wall, which appeared in Art Basel Miami in December 2019 and was sold for more than 100 million dollars.
The exhibition starts at the entrance of the museum. A dusty homeless man lies leaning against a pillar near the entrance of Leeum. Visitors may be surprised and step back or burst into laughter at the unexpected scenery they met at an unexpected place.
To take a look at some of the works of the exhibition, first of all, in the slightly open refrigerator, there is a work of Catellan's mother sitting with ingredients. This work is said to be Catellan’s way to honor his mother who passed by when he was in his early 20s.
Another work looks like a small child kneeling on his knees and putting his hands together to pray. It is quite shocking the small child has the face of Adolf Hitler. This work was created in 2001 at the Swedish Museum of Art after receiving an exhibition offer. This is a work that criticized Sweden for taking a neutral position but later helping the Nazis during World War II.
The reason why Cattelan created such a weird and absurd situation is to make it easier for people to talk about art and social issues without difficulty. The exhibition will continue until July 16, 2023, and various programs will be held, including artist talks, workshops, and seminars to view the art world of Cattelan. Currently, reservations are available on the museum’s official website, and it would be better to book tickets in a hurry as the number of visitors is increasing day by day.