If you’ve been wondering what’s happening in Korea’s growing art scene, we highly recommended that you make your way to the the KUKJE Gallery in Seoul, founded in 1982.
In April 2012, Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu, architects and founders of New York based SO-IL, completed the newest addition of KUKJE; the K3 art space. In the interior of this white cube-like space is a two story gallery that spans a full 16 meters and is surrounded by a skylight along its ceiling edges. An auditorium in the basement, accessed through a staircase wrapped around the building, hosts stimulating lectures. On another underground level you can also find offices, storage, and even catering facilities. Placed in the heart of the Sogyeok-Dong historic district in Seoul, one would think the geometric structure would impose on or distort the historic urban fabric surrounding it, made up of small alleyways and courtyard houses.
However, a metal veil made of 510,000 steel rings, is perfectly placed over the white cubed pavilion, beautifully softening the structures’ edges, letting its geometric forms smoothly connect to one another. Diffusing the buildings’ mass slightly, the mesh veil creates a stunning play of shadows cast, while also producing an intriguing and mysterious splendor that is unique to the K3 Gallery space. With simplicity they have created a wonderful marriage of transparency and volumes. So come along and see the carefully curated art, but do let yourself get blown away by the spectacular architecture that stores it.
