Thaddaeus Ropac announced that the gallery will open a new location in Seoul, South Korea, with its inaugural exhibition taking place in early Autumn 2021.
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The inaugural exhibition will be announced in due course.
Thaddaeus Ropac’s new gallery will be located in Seoul’s Hannam-dong district, in a 750 sqm space on the first floor of the outstanding architectural landmark the Fort Hill building, awarded the Korean National Architecture Award 2011 and Seoul Architecture Award 2011 and 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 is 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 with 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,” said Thaddaeus Ropac, Founder of Thaddaeus Ropac.
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 Contemporary Art 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,” continued Ropac.
Specialising in contemporary art, Thaddaeus Ropac galleries support and showcase the careers of some of the most influential artists today with a wide-ranging programme of over 40 exhibitions curated at our extensive and historic gallery spaces each year.
Founded in 1983, the gallery currently represents over 60 artists across five locations in three European cities: London, Paris and Salzburg.
Thaddaeus Ropac and its artists have a longstanding history with Seoul, dating back to 2007 and Georg Baselitz’s first exhibition in Korea at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea, Gwacheon, Georg Baselitz’s Russian Paintings: Memory Unforgettable. The same year, the gallery began representing Lee Bul (b. 1964, South Korea), 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 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 Contemporary Art Seoul (MMCA) and Alex Katz: Models & Dancers was presented at Lotte Museum of Art, while Busan Museum of Art presented Antony Gormley: FEEL last year (2019-2020).
“There is such energy and enthusiastic engagement with contemporary art in the city of Seoul, to which we will be contributing a varied exhibition 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,” said Kyu Jin Hwang, Director, Asia.
Thaddaeus Ropac also represents a number of renowned artist estates including the Donald Judd Foundation, Joseph Beuys Estate, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and Sturtevant Estate and continues to build on their legacy, as well as providing curatorial expertise, acting as consultant to major museums and public institutions, advising private and corporate collections and running its own publishing house. Active in both the primary and secondary markets, the gallery represents its artists at all major international art fairs.
Featuring glass-panelled windows and an innovative layout that nods to the original structures of its surroundings, the Fort Hill Building totals five floors and is located 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, the Hannam-dong district has rapidly transformed into one of Asia’s most thriving districts, recognised both locally and internationally for its destination identity, its vibrant nature and its continuously evolving position as a hub for the arts and creative activity.
The gallery is thrilled to contribute to the dynamic artistic interchange and energy of the area, to welcome new and existing audiences to its space, and to be a part of this nexus of great cultural significance and opportunity.
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In addition to opening its new location in October, Thaddaeus Ropac galleries look forward to the upcoming shows in the capital, featuring artists represented by the gallery, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan. The gallery is also announcing its second participation in Art Busan this month and looks forward to welcoming visitors to Booth A19 (until 16 May).