Matter. Space. Time. The Palais des Papes opens its doors to Lee Ufan, a major figure in contemporary Korean art, for a major exhibition. The exhibition, entitled “Relatum,” transforms the iconic spaces of the Avignon monument into experimental sites for architectural sculptures.

An encounter: contemporary art and Gothic architecture

For this exhibition, Lee Ufan does not seek to compete with the spectacular Palais des Papes. His interventions play with its volumes, perspectives, and quiet spaces. Several works have been adapted, transformed, or conceived specifically for the spaces they occupy.

In the Great Chapel, Relatum – Primitive Room unfolds an impressive mineral landscape composed of more than 60 tons of slate spread over some 650 m². The intervention prioritizes the floor and invites a different perspective on the immense Gothic volume that surrounds it. For while the verticality of the space urges us to look up, this pool of gray, from which emerge the first stirrings of life, the seeds of existence, inspires us to lower our gaze with poetry.

The journey continues in the Upper Kitchen, where a new installation plays on the reflections of steel and the almost imperceptible presence of a wire. In this monumental space, marked by its imposing fireplace, a few elements suffice to alter the perception of volumes.

In the Saint-Martial Chapel, a monumental stone forms the heart of Relatum – The Stone. Reduced to an almost silent presence, it engages in a dialogue with the medieval paintings and the architecture of the chapel. Here, the artist continues one of his recurring approaches: placing a natural element in a constructed space to create a tension between the accumulated time of the stone and the historical time of the monument. The rock seems to have witnessed everything...

At the Grand Tinel, five paintings from the Response series complete the exhibition. Lee Ufan's pictorial gesture explores, with great economy of means, the notions of presence and absence.

Finally, in the Benedict XII cloister, Relatum – Beyond is organized around refined metallic forms. The visitor is invited to cross this installation as a threshold, a symbolic way of passing from one space to another and questioning our relationship to time and the history of the place.

As part of the celebrations of the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Korea.

PALACE OF THE POPES
Place du Palais, 84000 Avignon
Until November 15, 2026