M+ Museum at West Kowloon: M+ to Present The Prism of an Era: Japanese Art Practice, 1989–2010, Lee Bul: Works from 1998 Onwards, and Spring Manifesto in September 2025 in Collaboration with Leading Cultural Institutions in East Asia

Description

M+, the museum for visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District, announces its collaboration with renowned cultural institutions in East Asia to co-organise and present three major exhibitions, which will open in Japan and South Korea in September 2025: The Prism of an Era: Japanese Art Practice, 1989–2010 at the National Art Center, Tokyo; Lee Bul: Works from 1998 Onwards at the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul; and Spring Manifesto at the National Asia Culture Center, Gwangju.

These exhibitions underscore M+’s ongoing collaboration with distinguished international cultural institutions and reaffirm its commitment to fostering global curatorial collaboration. Last year, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority hosted the Hong Kong International Cultural Co-operation Forum, during which M+ and its international museum partners signed a letter of intent for collaboration. The Prism of an Era: Japanese Art Practice, 1989–2010 and Lee Bul: Works from 1998 Onwards are among the important outcomes of this collaboration, while Spring Manifesto stems from the letter of intent signed between M+ and the National Asia Culture Center in October 2024 in Korea.

The Prism of an Era: Japanese Art Practice, 1989–2010 at the National Art Center, Tokyo

Co-curated and co-organised by M+ and the National Art Center, Tokyo, The Prism of an Era: Japanese Art Practice, 1989–2010 will be on view at the National Art Center, Tokyo, from Wednesday, 3 September to Monday, 8 December 2025. Featuring over 50 artists from Japan and abroad, the exhibition explores the art that emerged in Japan from 1989 to 2010 and how Japanese culture influenced the world during that time. This period began with the end of the Showa era (1926–1989) and the start of the Heisei era (1989–2019), and ended in 2010, a year before the Great East Japan Earthquake. These two decades witnessed the end of the Cold War and the advent of globalisation, which promoted the free flow of people, goods, and information, and greatly encouraged international dialogue and interaction. During this time, artists in Japan and elsewhere sought new ways of making art, reflecting the social and cultural currents of the time like a prism, and creating works that raised a multiplicity of questions. Through the lens of art, this exhibition reflects on this critical period of transition, presenting a multifaceted view of its diverse histories and contexts, while examining Japan’s role as a platform for artistic creation from both national and international perspectives.

The exhibition begins with an introduction exploring the beginnings of globalisation in the 1980s. It then moves to 1989, a major turning point in Japanese history, and showcases the artistic activities that emerged during this period of sociopolitical transformation in Japan. The exploration of this period, from 1989 to 2010, is approached from three thematic angles: the first theme, 'The Past Is a Phantom', looks at how artists continued to engage with the subject of war and its impact on society, culture, and individual psychology; the second theme, 'Self and Others', focuses on works that examine identity, gender, and traditional hierarchical systems, while also showcasing how Japanese culture continued to inspire artistic experimentation; and the third theme, 'A Promise of Community', presents a series of projects that demonstrate how artists explored new possibilities for human connection through interactions with existing communities or the formation of new ones.

The Prism of an Era: Japanese Art Practice, 1989–2010 is co-curated by Doryun Chong, Director, Curatorial, and Chief Curator, M+; Stella Fong, Curator, Visual Art, M+; Yukie Kamiya, Chief Curator, National Art Center, Tokyo; and Yun Jin Hui, Curator, National Art Center, Tokyo.

Lee Bul: Works from 1998 Onwards at the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul

Co-organised by M+ and the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, the touring exhibition Lee Bul: Works from 1998 Onwards will be presented at the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, from Thursday, 4 September 2025 to Sunday, 4 January 2026, before travelling to M+ in March 2026 and then to other venues around the world. Lee Bul (b. 1964, South Korea) is a leading figure in contemporary art who first gained recognition in the late 1980s for her experimental works responding to South Korea’s tumultuous sociopolitical climate. Over the past four decades, she has become an important voice in global contemporary art through her diverse practice encompassing performance, sculpture, installation, and works on paper. Lee Bul explores the complex and mutable relationships between body and society, human and technology, nature and civilisation, and the power mechanisms that shape these relationships. Through this broad exploration, her ever-evolving oeuvre reflects on the past and present of humanity, while offering imaginations of the future.

Lee Bul: Works from 1998 Onwards brings together approximately 150 works, offering a comprehensive overview of the artist’s significant body of work from the late 1990s to the present. The exhibition includes key works from the early 2000s, such as the Cyborg and Anagram series, which explore the concept of the body in a post-human culture mediated by technology. A highlight of the exhibition is the complete series of Lee Bul’s monumental sculptural installations, Mon grand récit, which she has been creating since 2005. The exhibition also features the artist’s recent Willing To Be Vulnerable and Perdu series, as well as numerous drawings and models that illuminate Lee Bul’s creative process. These works demonstrate the artist’s sustained engagement with several core issues—utopian modernity, the relationship between humans and technology, and the achievements and setbacks experienced in humanity’s constant pursuit of perfection and progress.

Lee Bul: Works from 1998 Onwards is co-curated by Doryun Chong, Director, Curatorial, and Chief Curator, M+; June Young Kwak, Exhibition Director, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art; and co-organised by Zhang Jun, Curator, Design and Architecture, M+; and Heyeon Kim, Curator, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. The first comprehensive monograph on Lee Bul’s extensive and multifaceted practice, jointly published by the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, M+, and Thames & Hudson, will be released concurrently with the exhibition.

Spring Manifesto at the National Asia Culture Center, Gwangju

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the National Asia Culture Center, M+ Hong Kong and the ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe have co-curated the exhibition Spring Manifesto, which will be open to the public at the National Asia Culture Center from Friday, 5 September 2025 to Sunday, 22 February 2026.

Bringing together artists, scientists, and theorists, the exhibition examines economic globalisation and envisions alternatives, with a focus on regionality, biodiversity, and future generations. In October 2024, the National Asia Culture Center held a symposium to initiate the curatorial research for this exhibition, expanding the dialogue beyond the Anthropocene in the geological concept to new perspectives on the capitalist value system and its entanglement with the natural world. Conveying a manifesto for the future, the exhibition anticipates a spring in which all species can coexist in harmony. Participating artists include ikkibawiKrrr, Kim Soun Gui, Kyung-Kun Park, Anne Duk Hee Jordan, Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries, Ho Rui An, Zhang Ding, Chan Sook Choi, Hito Steyerl, and Connie Zheng, among others, whose works address ecological and social issues through interdisciplinary approaches. The exhibition will feature twelve newly commissioned works.

Spring Manifesto is co-curated by Kim Jiha, Senior Curator, National Asia Culture Center; Lim Liwon, Curator, National Asia Culture Center; Jeon Minsu, Assistant Curator, National Asia Culture Center; Shirley Surya, Senior Curator, Moving Image, and CHANEL Curator, M+; Li Jiaqi, Assistant Curator, Moving Image, M+; Alistair Hudson, Chair of Science Gallery, ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe; and Clara Runge, Curator, ZKM Museum.