Kwak Soo Young is an artist whose practice explores memory and inner time through light, line, and the material layers of painting. After graduating from the Department of Painting at Hongik University, he moved to France and earned an M.F.A. in Plastic Arts from Paris 8 University. Since then, he has developed a distinctive painterly language while working between Korea and France. In Kwak’s work, light is not simply a physical phenomenon that illuminates the visible world; rather, it becomes a medium through which memories, sensations, and images buried deep within the mind gradually emerge.

Gallery Belle Vie takes its name from the French phrase La Belle Vie, meaning “the beautiful life.” Beyond its literal translation, Belle Vie embodies a way of living grounded in warmth, generosity, and a sense of grace in everyday moments. Established in Seoul in January 2020, Gallery Belle Vie held its first exhibition in September 2021, and has since presented a series of exhibitions that naturally weave contemporary art into life and space. By curating a dynamic range of exhibitions each year, the gallery seeks to engage with the current moment of contemporary art while discovering and highlighting new perspectives from artists both in Korea and abroad. We believe that when art dissolves the boundary between daily life and personal space, life expands beyond routine and opens into an intimate realm of perception. Gallery Belle Vie aims to be a companion in that journey—guiding viewers to discover their own aesthetic language and to broaden the horizons of their inner world.