Coinciding with the opening of Frieze Seoul and KIAF Seoul 2025, COEX Art Project has installed the "LOBSTER SUNFLOWER", a 6-meter large-scale sculpture and digital art installation by internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Philip Colbert, at the main entrance of K-POP Square, Seoul's representative public space and venue for both art fairs.

Lobster Merges with Sunflower

《LOBSTER SUNFLOWER》

This work greatly reflects Colbert's distinctive surrealist worldview. His symbolic icon, the lobster, and the beloved motif of sunflowers have merged as digital art and sculpture. The resulting immersive experience overwhelms the plaza.

Colbert's Seoul project extends beyond collaboration with COEX to the city's skyline. Particularly through collaboration with Hanmi Semiconductor, outdoor advertising featuring abstract sunflower details surrounding the company's logo creates something special that connects his artistic language and the symbolism of sunflowers with the image of Korea's leading innovative company. We can see how Seoul's cultural landscape and artistic language are organically connected.

"Sunflowers are a constant source of inspiration for me. My work is an homage to sunflowers as symbols of beauty, optimism, and resilience." — Philip Colbert

Sunflowers have long been positioned as an important motif in art history, particularly Vincent van Gogh's masterpiece "Sunflowers" series, widely known as works symbolizing beauty, perseverance, and the cycle of life. Colbert's "LOBSTER SUNFLOWER" inherits this artistic tradition while breathing new life into the metropolitan city of Seoul during the Frieze/KIAF period through the bold aesthetics of pop art.

Colbert expressed his hope that by installing this work—where the wit conveyed by "LOBSTER SUNFLOWER" coexists with the grandeur provided by the 6-meter super-large sculpture—in Seoul, a city that is a global art hub, viewers will be able to feel the symbolic power of sunflowers within contemporary culture.

The installation is on view until September 21.

Additionally, Philip Colbert is holding a solo exhibition at Whitestone Gallery Taipei starting October 25. Stay tuned for updates!

Who is Philip Colbert?

Philip Colbert striking a lobster pose

"I became an artist when I became a lobster." — Philip Colbert

Born in Scotland and based in London, Colbert is an artist who has gained worldwide popularity through his alter ego—a comic-style lobster—and outstanding hyper-pop history paintings. His work explores patterns of contemporary digital culture and art historical dialogue. After earning a master's degree in philosophy from the University of St Andrews, his work has been highly acclaimed in museums and galleries worldwide. Following in the footsteps of early pop art pioneers like Richard Hamilton, Roy Lichtenstein, and James Rosenquist, he develops unique expressions that intersect themes of classical painting and contemporary art theory with popular contemporary culture. This approach is all narrated through the eyes of his lobster alter ego and has earned support from major art world figures like Charles Saatchi and Simon de Pury as a master of contemporary pop art.

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Philip Colbert “LOBSTER SUNFLOWER”

Venue: K-POP Square, COEX, Seoul
Dates: August 29 – September 21, 2025
Admission: Free, open to the public