Seoul—Pace is pleased to present its first major exhibition of work by Lawrence Weiner at its Seoul gallery from November 8 to December 28. Occupying the second and third floors of Pace Seoul—as well as elements of the gallery’s exterior—Lawrence Weiner: ANYTHING ADDED TO SOMETHING will bring together sculptures created by the artist from 1989 to 2019, showcasing his use of language as the work itself, visualized through gestures, graphics, and typographic design. This show follows UNDER THE SUN, a survey exhibition of Weiner’s work at Seoul’s Amorepacific Museum of Art last year.

A pioneering figure in the international Conceptual art scene of the 1960s, Weiner’s use of language was a powerful and transformative gesture to performance. Bringing the receiver of his work into its performative existence, the context and resonance of his art proposed radical questions pertaining to the nature of objects. The artist adopted language as his primary material in the late 1960s when he issued his “Declaration of Intent,” a seminal text within the early development of Conceptual art:

1. The artist may construct the piece
2. The piece may be fabricated
3. The piece need not be built
[Each being equal and consistent with the intent of the artist, the decision as to condition rests with the receiver upon the occasion of receivership]

Weiner described his medium as “language + the materials referred to.” He merged word and material in an act of performance to create his work, which developed over the years to include graphic elements and gestures in his signature style. Central to the work is the reliance on the viewer’s reading of it, which is based on one’s lived experiences. Weiner’s open-ended statements inevitably draw out insights and emotions that are personal to the viewer. His artworks—which, throughout his career, he installed atop walls, floors, windows, manhole covers, and buildings; printed in books and on posters; and occasionally sung—are deeply connected to the physical, cultural, and social circumstances of their environments. The artist translated his works into numerous languages so that they could be understood in the contexts of their institutional and public presentations around the world.

As the artist once said, “Anything that exists has a certain space around it; even an idea occupies space.” Weiner’s ANYTHING ADDED TO SOMETHING (2009/2024) will occupy the second floor of Pace’s Seoul gallery. Viewers will be confronted by the scale of the work as well as the social, economic, and environmental implications of anything added to something. 

On the gallery’s third floor, works from 1989 to 2019, which reference landscape and phenomena of the natural world, will be on view. These sculptures will include COVERED BY CLOUDS (1989/2024), INCLINED ENOUGH TO ROLL(2009/2024), ROLLED THROUGH CORRIDORS OF CONTAINMENT TO REST ON A LEVEL SURFACE (2009/2024), and ATTACHED BY EBB AND FLOW (2019/2024). On the same floor, a second iteration of ANYTHING ADDED TO SOMETHING will be exhibited outside on the glass enclosure of the balcony, visible from the street.

Lawrence Weiner (b. 1942, New York; d. 2021, New York) is known for his philosophically minded works that propose new ways of making and experiencing art. A major figure in the development of the Conceptual art movement, Weiner was deeply interested in communication and reception. His art, which has been installed in public and institutional spaces around the world, is marked by its inherent accessibility and fluidity. In addition to his sculpture, Weiner produced music, films, and videos, as well as artist books and editions, throughout his career. In 2022, the artist was posthumously awarded the Oskar Kokoschka Prize for outstanding achievements in visual art.