Thaddaeus Ropac to open in Seoul, South Korea

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We are delighted to announce that we will open a new gallery location in Seoul, South Korea, with our inaugural exhibition taking place in early Autumn 2021. Our inaugural exhibition will be announced in due course.

Thaddaeus Ropac's new gallery will be located in Seoul's Hannam-dong district, occupying the first floor of an outstanding architectural landmark: the Fort Hill building. Awarded the Korean National Architecture Award 2011 and #seoul Architecture Award 2011, it was designed by SAI architects, led by the celebrated architect Juhwan Park. The bespoke gallery interior will be designed by acclaimed interior designer Teo Yang Studio to create a unique setting for the presentation and experience of exhibitions by the gallery's artists. 

It's with tremendous excitement that we are establishing the gallery in #seoul and a privilege to participate in and contribute to a city that has such strong and long-established foundations for artistic interchange. Our personal ties to South Korea and the city of #seoul have grown significantly and it has been an honour to work with major Korean institutions on numerous projects over the years. Having worked with the artist Lee Bul since 2007 and staged a memorable show of Lee Ufan’s work in Paris in 2009, as well as collaborating with the National Museum of Modern and #contemporaryart Korea for a Georg Baselitz exhibition in 2007, we look forward to deepening these relationships. The rich cultural history that is integral to the city is exemplified by the historic art academies, the incredible institutional infrastructure and the tradition of nurturing each generation's artists, and even over the short period of the past decade we've witnessed further exciting evolutions. We have found a space in #seoul that feels very much like a new home for our artists and our exhibition programme, which we look forward to sharing when we open in October. – Thaddaeus Ropac

Located in the heart of the Hannam-dong neighbourhood overlooking the Fort Hill sunken garden, #thaddaeusropac Seoul is situated in close proximity to a number of museums and cultural institutions, including the National Museum of Korea, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art and Amorepacific Museum of Art.

In recent years, Hannam-dong has rapidly transformed into one of Asia's most thriving cultural districts, recognised both locally and internationally for its destination identity, its vibrant nature and its continuously evolving position as a hub for creative activity and the arts. We are thrilled to contribute to the dynamic artistic interchange and energy of the area, to welcome new and existing audiences to our space, and to be a part of this nexus of great cultural significance and opportunity. 

Thaddaeus Ropac and its artists have a long-standing history with #seoul, dating back to 2007 and Georg Baselitz's first exhibition in Korea, Russian Paintings: Memory Unforgettable, at the National Museum of Modern and #contemporaryart Korea, Gwacheon. The same year, the gallery began representing Lee Bul (b. 1964), one of the leading Korean artists of her generation, and presented her first exhibition with the gallery in the Salzburg Villa Kast space. Since then, the artist has held solo shows in each of Thaddaeus Ropac's locations. Lee Bul's early works are currently the subject of a major solo exhibition, Beginning, at #seoul Museum of Art (until 16 May 2021). In 2018, Marcel Duchamp: The Essential Duchamp and Harun Farocki: What Ought to Be Done? Work and Life were both shown at the National Museum of Modern and #contemporaryart, Korea (MMCA) and Alex Katz: Models & Dancers was presented at the Lotte Museum of Art, while Busan Museum of Art presented Antony Gormley: FEEL last year (2019-20). 

Kyu Jin Hwang, Director, Asia, has been instrumental in establishing the #thaddaeusropac #seoul gallery. She will work closely with the team in #seoul and continue to split her time between #seoul and London.

There is such energy and enthusiastic engagement with #contemporaryart in the city of #seoul, to which we will be contributing a varied exhibitions and events programme to meet this. Our team here is growing and we are delighted to play a role in the already flourishing art scene, both the local and regional discourse, building on our existing collaborations with artists, collectors, museums and institutions. – Kyu Jin Hwang, Director, Asia

In addition to opening our new location in October, #thaddaeusropac galleries look forward to upcoming shows in South Korea featuring artists represented by the gallery, including at the Museum of #contemporaryart Busan. The gallery is also pleased to announce our second participation in Art Busan this month and look forward to welcoming visitors to our Booth A19 (until 16 May).