Hoam Museum of Art’s special exhibition captivates art lovers

[Courtesy of Samsung Electronics Co.]

A large-scale special exhibition hosted by the Hoam Museum of Art in South Korea is attracting both local and international art lovers with its display of rare Buddhist artworks. The exhibition, titled “Unsullied, Like a Lotus in Mud,” showcases 92 pieces of Buddhist art in East Asia. It has attracted an average of more than 1,000 visitors daily, with the cumulative number of visitors topping 60,000 since it opened on March 27th, 2024, and will run until June 16th, 2024.

It is the world’s first to display unique Buddhist artworks from Korea, China, and Japan that focus on the theme of “women,” according to Samsung Group.

Samsung exhibited various pieces from the Lee Kun-hee Collection, including the Buddhist scripture “Sakyamuni‘s Teaching on Parental Love” and “Painting of Amitabha Buddha.” Four pieces from the Samsung Foundation of Culture were also displayed for the first time.

The museum took five years to prepare this large-scale exhibition, gathering 92 artworks from 27 collections in Korea, Japan, the United States, and Europe. The largest number of artworks are from Korea (48), followed by Japan (25) and China (19).

[Courtesy of Samsung Electronics Co.]

There are also 47 artworks being introduced to Korea for the first time. Notably, the Gilt-bronze Standing Bodhisattva statue, on loan from an overseas private collector, is on show for the public to see for the first time in Korea, while the “Lacquered Sutra Case with Inlaid Mother-of-pearl Design,” a national treasure from the Goryeo Dynasty, is one of only six that remain worldwide.

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee visited the exhibition five times with various foreign guests and business partners, which emphasized Samsung’s efforts and contributions to the development of Korean culture and art.

It is reported that Lee personally demonstrated a digital magnifier allowing viewers to take a closer view of the “Transcription of Saddharmapundarika Sutra (The Lotus Sutra) in Gold on Indigo Paper.”

The Hoam Museum of Art is praised by both the business and art communities for significantly elevating the level of Korean art culture, with notable contributions from Samsung.

Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul donated 1,167 cultural properties to the Samsung Foundation of Culture and founded the museum in 1982 with the artwork he collected for over 30 years. He believed that collecting cultural properties was a way to protect national cultural heritage and enhance national pride.

Following in his father’s footsteps, the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee, Jay Y. Lee’s father, opened the Leeum Museum of Art in 2004. It was also his will to have Heewon, a traditional Korean garden, to be built at the Hoam Museum of Art.

This legacy of cultural and artistic contribution continues with the third generation. Jay Y. Lee and his family donated over 23,000 pieces, including the Lee Kun-hee Collection, to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the National Museum of Korea in 2021.

[Courtesy of Samsung Electronics Co.]

At that time, Hong Ra-hee, former head of Leeum Museum of Art and Jay Y. Lee’s mother, said on behalf of the family, “We are pleased that Lee Kun-hee‘s wish to return precious cultural heritage to the public has been fulfilled.”

The family also donated a pair of guardian statues housed at the Hoam Museum of Art to the government in August 2023 to help restore the Woldae, or a wide platform, in front of the Gwanghwamun Gate of Gyeongbok Palace. Thanks to Samsung’s support, the Gwanghwamun Woldae regained its original appearance after 100 years.

Samsung is also helping to globalize Korean art, donating $2 million to support a dedicated curator for the Korean Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, one of the world‘s top three art museums. The Lee Kun-hee Collection will also be showcased at the U.S. Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in 2025, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the British Museum in 2026.