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Centre Pompidou Hanwha to open at 63 Building this summer

Published: 30 Mar. 2026, 14:11 Updated: 30 Mar. 2026, 19:23

Exterior view of Centre Pompidou Hanwha, set to open at the 63 Building in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, on June 4. [HANWHA FOUNDATION]

Centre Pompidou Hanwha, a new outpost of France’s Centre Pompidou, will open at the 63 Building in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, on June 4, marking the institution’s first presence in Korea, Hanwha Foundation announced on Monday.

The museum will debut with the exhibition “Cubists: Pioneers of Vision,” featuring about 90 works by around 40 artists including Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Fernand Léger, as part of a four-year program that will bring major works from the French museum’s collection to Seoul.

A special section titled “Korea Focus” will revisit Paris’s role in the formation of early Korean modern art and examine how post-Cubist avant-garde movements influenced Korea’s modern and contemporary art.

Over the next four years, the museum will hold two exhibitions annually based on the Centre Pompidou collection. Following the Cubism exhibition, shows featuring Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, Henri Matisse and Fauvism will continue through 2027. Subsequent exhibitions will explore Surrealism and abstract art, as well as female artists who have historically remained on the margins of art history. A large-scale exhibition of Constantin Brâncuși, widely regarded as a pioneer of abstract sculpture, is also planned as the first of its kind in Korea.

A photo of Pablo Picasso's “Rideau pour le ballet 'Mercure'"(1924) at Centre Pompidou [CENTRE POMPIDOU]

The museum was created by remodeling the annex of the 63 Building, formerly used as an aquarium, into a gallery space with two main exhibition halls, each measuring about 500 pyeong — approximately 1,653 square meters, or roughly 17,800 square feet. The design adopts a “box of light” concept, allowing natural light to penetrate deeply during the day while radiating outward into the city at night. The exterior features a horizontal band of light that contrasts with the vertical structure of the main tower, along with a semi-transparent double-glass facade inspired by the curves of traditional roof tiles. The project was designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte.

Laurent Le Bon, president of Centre Pompidou, described the opening as a significant milestone in the institution’s history and a meaningful opportunity to engage with Korea’s dynamic cultural landscape and new audiences.

The Paris flagship of Centre Pompidou closed in September last year for a five-year renovation. It currently operates branches in Málaga, Spain and Shanghai, with additional locations planned in Brussels and Jersey City in the United States.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KWON KEUN-YOUNG [[email protected]]