The Trinity Gallery is presenting the special exhibition "The old future: 140 years, a dialogue of Korean-French images (L'Avenir Ancien: 140 Ans, Dialogue des Images Corée-Franc)" through May 31 in the gallery space at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. The exhibition was prepared jointly with the Embassy of France in Korea.
The exhibition focuses on reinterpreting, through the lens of contemporary art, the cultural exchange and artistic influence between Korea and France that have continued since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1886. Beyond political and diplomatic ties, it unfolds the accumulated relationship between the two countries—from art and architecture to urban culture, senses, and taste—into a language of images within the works.
In particular, the scene of the two countries' leaders meeting and clasping hands in 2026 does not remain a single event confined to diplomatic documents but is constantly reproduced and expanded across the layers of art and everyday life. The exhibition explores how the history of such encounters is revived as different images within artworks.
Three artists—Kim Hong-sik, Bae Jun-sung, and Lee Lee-nam—are participating in the exhibition. Based on the concepts of surface, gaze, and time, they each explore points where past and present, reality and illusion intersect.
The exhibition begins from the viewpoint that "the past is not a simple record but is repeated, reinterpreted, and led into the present." In particular, through the process by which historical scenes in the Korea-France relationship are transformed into new images within artworks, it sheds light on the cultural dialogue the two countries have sustained over a long period.
Artist Kim Hong-sik engraves images of past art onto metal surfaces and places them within modern spaces. Through a cold and precise materiality, the works show what kind of memory old images leave today and reveal a sensation in which matter and image overlap.
Artist Bae Jun-sung presents work that shakes the boundaries between painting and photography, the real and the illusory. Composed so that the screen changes according to the viewer's position and movement, it embeds multiple layers of meaning within a single scene. Through this, viewers come to look again at the very way they perceive images.
Artist Lee Lee-nam combines digital technology with classical painting to expand static images into moving time. Using light, video, and movement, the work rebirths the legacy of the past as images that come alive anew within a contemporary sensibility.
Pierre Morcos, cultural counselor at the Embassy of France in Korea, said, "To mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties, this exhibition well showcases the artistic dialogue and mutual curiosity that France and Korea have maintained over a long period," and noted, "It is meaningful in that it jointly highlights artistic exchanges with Korean artists who have forged deep ties with France."
Park So-jung, head of The Trinity Gallery, said, "We hope visitors experience how the 140 years shared by Korea and France return as new images through the imaginations of artists."