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| Tokyo-headquartered Whitestone Gallery will launch a new space in central Seoul's Yongsan District this September, becoming the first Japanese exhibitor to open a permanent outpost in Korea. Courtesy of Kengo Kuma and Associates |
By Park Han-sol
Tokyo-headquartered Whitestone Gallery, one of the major art dealers based in Asia, announced the scheduled opening of its new space in Seoul on Sept. 2, in time for Frieze and Kiaf Seoul.
This is the first time for any Japanese exhibitor to open a permanent outpost in Korea. Founded in 1967 by Yukio Shiraishi, Whitestone currently operates in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Singapore and Karuizawa. The Seoul location will be its seventh branch in Asia.
Its 700-square-meter exhibition space spanning the five-story building in the capital city's Yongsan District has been designed by acclaimed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. The venue's rooftop area will feature outdoor sculptures and installations.
To mark its Seoul opening, the gallery is set to host a group exhibition, titled "We Love Korea," highlighting the works of East Asian post-modern and avant-garde artists and other global contemporary talents.
The show will be anchored around pieces ― as well as a live painting session ― by rising Japanese visual artist Miwa Komatsu, known for producing evocative images of mythical creatures and deities from East Asian traditions.
With the slated opening of its Seoul location, Whitestone will be among a flurry of international exhibitors that have recently entered or expanded their presence within the Korean art market.
Like Whitestone, White Cube is joining the art scene here this year as a newcomer, with its permanent space scheduled to open in the city's southern Gangnam District this fall.
Blue-chip art dealers Pace Gallery and Lehmann Maupin, both of which initially made inroads into Korea in 2017, announced the major expansion of their Seoul spaces in Hannam-dong last year. Thaddaeus Ropac will follow suit this September as it is set to enlarge its current outpost in the same neighborhood.
Some of the dealers have opened their second branches in the city. Paris-headquartered Perrotin, which opened its first venue in central Seoul's Samcheong-dong in 2016, unveiled its second in Gangnam District last August.
Berlin-based Peres Projects, which had been operating in the basement of The Shilla Seoul hotel since 2022, opened its second location in Samcheong-dong just a year later in April.
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