Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
INTERVIEW Maison Guerlain brings Korea's artistic soul to heart of Paris
Installation view of the exhibition, "Good Morning Korea, In the Land of the Morning Calm," at French perfume house Guerlain's flagship boutique on Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris / Courtesy of Maison Guerlain
By Park Han-sol
Guerlain, the storied French perfume house, has deepened its longstanding kinship with the art world by embracing Korean artistry in its latest show, “Good Morning Korea, In the Land of the Morning Calm.” Unveiled in time for the recently concluded Art Basel Paris, the exhibit brings the exuberant art of Korea to the French capital.
Ann-Caroline Prazan, Guerlain's director of art, culture and heritage / Courtesy of Maison Guerlain
Since the maison's founding in 1828 by Pierre-Francois-Pascal Guerlain, Belle Époque artists like Louise Abbema were invited to put a creative touch to its boutiques, fragrance bottles and powder boxes.
And Jacques Guerlain, the family’s third-generation perfumer, nurtured a passion for the avant-garde. He collected Impressionist paintings by Monet, Manet and Pissarro — then rejected and dismissed by the academic art world — displaying them in the house’s flagship boutique on Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
“The family immediately understood that collaborating with artists could create something truly different. We continue to cultivate our link with art, because it’s so important to foster this point of view of thinking outside the box,” Ann-Caroline Prazan, Guerlain’s director of art, culture and heritage, told The Korea Times.
The maison’s bond with art continues to this day, not only through collaborations with creative icons for its signature bottled scents but also through annual exhibitions staged at its Paris flagship store.
Installation view of the exhibition, "Good Morning Korea, In the Land of the Morning Calm" at Guerlain's Paris flagship boutique / Courtesy of Maison Guerlain
The new exhibition, “Good Morning Korea,” shines a spotlight on 17 Korean artists across generations and disciplines, underlining their ties to the natural world, technology and the myriad issues that beset contemporary society.
“I think (their practice) symbolizes Korea — it’s a mix between tradition and ultramodernity. It’s peaceful and elegant on one side, while on the other, it’s very energetic and dynamic. And that’s exactly the same for Guerlain; at the maison, heritage and innovation converge,” Prazan noted.
Set against the sumptuous backdrop of the perfume house’s gold-and-mirror-adorned boutique, the exhibition puts the works of established masters like Nam June Paik, Park Seo-bo, Lee Bul and Lee Kun-yong in dialogue with mid-career and emerging talents such as Anicka Yi, Woo Kuk-won, Chung Hee-min and Jeon Hyun-sun.
“The reason we mix very important Korean artists with emerging talents is because from the very beginning, the Guerlain family had a vision for the future of avant-garde spirits. They discovered artists like Monet, Manet and Degas, who became huge today. And we want to continue to open the doors of the house to young artists,” the director said.
Displayed at Guerlain's Paris flagship boutique is a delicate column, crafted from dyed fabrics, bamboo blinds and stones by sister artists Park Chae Dalle and Park Chae Biole. Courtesy of Maison Guerlain
Among the standouts in the show is a delicate column, crafted from dyed fabrics, bamboo blinds and stones specifically for this presentation by sister artists Park Chae Dalle and Park Chae Biole. Visualizing a dreamlike memory, the piece evokes a sense of fragility, perfectly complementing the ephemeral allure of perfume. Its composition is also somewhat reminiscent of “hanok,” a traditional house in Korea that has gauzy paper windows, wooden beams and stone blocks.
On other floors, the organic and technological merge seamlessly. Lee Bul’s cyborg sculpture fuses feminine forms with robotic elements, while Anicka Yi’s holographic painting, developed in “collaboration” with biology-inspired AI algorithms, ventures into new frontiers. Chung Hee-min, meanwhile, explores the material potential of digital imagery through her translucent gel drawing layered over 3D prints of virtual landscapes.
Cho Omyo's "Barrel Eye" (2022-2023) / Courtesy of the artist
Guerlain’s own signature fragrances add yet another sensory dimension to the viewing experience. For instance, Ahn Young-il’s azure “Water BCBP 17” is paired with the maison’s iconic “L’Heure Bleue,” forging an unexpected synergy between the painting’s tranquil blues and the perfume’s evocative scent.
“It’s about creating an immersive ballad, a promenade,” Prazan said. “For me, each piece reflects a part of Korea, a part of its sensibility and its character.”
Lee Jee-young's "The Little Match Girl" (2008) / Courtesy of the artist
“Good Morning Korea” is presented as a tribute to Guerlain’s new artistic partnership with renowned Korean master Lee Ufan. Lee personally selected many of the creatives featured in the ongoing show, according to the director.
In 2023, the perfumer teamed up with Lee to launch the Art & Environment Prize, aimed to annually award a young talent with a residency and exhibition at the Lee Ufan Arles museum in southern France. This year’s recipient was French Canadian artist Caroline Corbasson.
Guerlain has unveiled a limited-edition fragrance, "Souvenir d'Orchidée," born from its collaboration with Korean artist Lee Ufan. Courtesy of Maison Guerlain
And this month, Guerlain unveiled a limited-edition fragrance, “Souvenir d’Orchidée,” born from a collaboration with the artist and the brand’s creative director of fragrance, Delphine Jelk. Only 21 numbered pieces will be made available worldwide.
The scent, inspired by memories of Lee’s childhood in the mountains of Korea, features notes of blue orchids, jasmine and aquatic minerals. It is presented in a white porcelain bottle, adorned with the artist’s own restrained green brushstroke, as a meditative ode to nature.
“I think with this fragrance, you feel more connected, more attached to Lee Ufan as a person — not just the artist, but the man himself,” the director observed. She added that the partnership with the minimalist painter reminded her of the importance of “giving time to produce timeless creations.”
“Less is more. And time is the nourishment of our world.”
“Good Morning Korea” runs through Nov. 12 at Guerlain’s Paris flagship store.