The Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA) is presenting a major retrospective of South Korean artist Lee Bul, bringing together more than 150 key works spanning over four decades. ‘Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now‘ runs from 13 November 2026 to 7 March 2027, occupying both floors of the Antwerp museum.
The exhibition explores the artist’s radical and visionary practice, examining the relationships between the human body and society, people and technology, and nature and civilisation. Through sculpture, installations, performance and two-dimensional works, Lee Bul questions both the promises and failures of modernity and the political forces shaping our collective imagination.
Lee Bul emerged as an artist in the late 1980s, developing her work in close dialogue with the changing social and political landscape of South Korea. Her practice has since evolved into a wide-ranging exploration of utopian thinking, modernist architecture and historical avant-garde movements.
The retrospective traces this development, from her early provocative performances to immersive, multisensory installations. It highlights how formal experimentation is combined with philosophical reflection. Lee Bul is now internationally recognised as an influential pioneer whose work has inspired younger generations of artists.
From cyborgs to failed utopias
Among the works on display is ‘Cyborg W6‘ (2001), part of Lee Bul’s exploration of the relationship between the human body and technology. Her cyborg sculptures examine ideas of perfection, beauty and the boundaries between human and machine.
The exhibition also includes ‘Monster: Black‘ (2011), a reconstruction of a work originally created in 1998. These works reflect the artist’s longstanding interest in technological transformation, idealised bodies and the contradictions of modern civilisation.
Born in South Korea in 1964, Lee Bul has worked across performance, sculpture, installation and painting. Her recurring themes include the body, gender, failed utopias and an increasingly technology-driven society. Her career includes an artistic commission for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2024.
International museum collaboration
‘Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now’ is jointly organised by Seoul‘s Leeum Museum of Art and M+, the museum of visual culture in Hong Kong, in collaboration with M HKA.
The exhibition is curated by June Young Kwak and Heyeon Kim from the Leeum Museum of Art, alongside Doryun Chong and Sunny Cheung from M+. The Antwerp presentation is organised by Nav Haq, Associate Director of M HKA.
Following its presentation in Antwerp, the exhibition will travel to the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, where its international tour is scheduled to conclude towards the end of 2027.
Public programme and practical information
Alongside the exhibition, M HKA is organising a public programme featuring guided tours, lectures, discussions and performances. Activities for families include tours for toddlers, family days and creative workshops for children aged two and older.
‘Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now’ runs from 13 November 2026 to 7 March 2027 at M HKA, Leuvenstraat 32, Antwerp. Ticket prices and practical information are available through the museum’s website.
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