Friedrich Kunath Explores Distance and Longing in First Seoul Solo Exhibition
Maria Kim
sayart2022@gmail.com | 2026-09-15 21:15:23
German-born artist Friedrich Kunath is presenting his first solo exhibition in Seoul at Pace Gallery.
Titled “The Nearest Faraway Place,” the exhibition brings together around 30 paintings and drawings across the gallery’s second and third floors. It runs through Oct. 24.
Kunath, who works between Los Angeles and Europe, uses landscapes to examine distance, relocation and the difficulty of defining home. Disappearing roads, distant horizons, sunsets and solitary figures recur throughout the exhibition.
The lower level contains framed watercolour drawings. In one untitled work from 2026, a brightly coloured Porsche sits partly submerged in a pond, placing movement and arrival against an otherwise still landscape.
Larger oil paintings occupy the upper floor. Kunath combines imagery associated with German Romanticism with references to American popular culture, music, cinema and personal memory. Humour and melancholy frequently appear within the same scene.
The exhibition title comes from the Beach Boys instrumental “The Nearest Faraway Place.” Kunath has described music as central to his practice and said he wants his paintings to operate with the emotional immediacy of songs.
Kunath studied at the Braunschweig University of Art and has been based in Los Angeles since 2007. He joined Pace Gallery’s artist programme in 2025. The Seoul exhibition is his second presentation with the gallery.
“The Nearest Faraway Place” is on view at Pace Gallery Seoul, located at 267 Itaewon-ro in Yongsan District.
SayArt.net
Maria Kim sayart2022@gmail.com
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