The internationally acclaimed filmmaker Park Chan-wook (b.1963) has demonstrated his passion for photography through a wide variety of media channels. Park questions himself the reason behind the act of taking a picture, leading audiences to contemplate the nature of photography as a medium. In stark contrast to the carefully orchestrated scenes in his films, his photographs readily embrace happenchance and the unexpected, while at the same time possessing incisive and wry humor coupled with powerful drama. As the artist describes his photography practice, coincidence and spontaneity play crucial roles in his photographs as an 'antidote' to his experiences in filmmaking. Park, who as a commercial film director would have most astutely trained the ability to capture the sentiment of the times in his works, provides us with the motive to proactively expand the realm of unexpected beauty within the most habitual scenes of our everyday life.

Kukje Gallery, initially founded in Seoul’s Insa-dong by chairman Hyun-Sook Lee in 1982, relocated in 1987 to its iconic K1 building in the heart of Sogyeok-dong, a neighborhood rich with historical and cultural context. Since its inception, Kukje Gallery has served as a vital cultural hub in Seoul, introducing important works by renowned modern and contemporary artists. Major solo exhibitions have showcased the work of internationally acclaimed artists including Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Anish Kapoor, Robert Mapplethorpe, Candida Höfer, Jenny Holzer, Bill Viola, Ugo Rondinone, Roni Horn, Jean-Michel Othoniel, and Julian Opie. At the same time, Kukje Gallery has been committed to educating collectors and institutions across the globe on Korean art history, as well as promoting the work of some of the nation’s most important artists including Wook-kyung Choi, Kim Yong-Ik, Koo Bohnchang, Ahn Kyuchul, Hong Seung-Hye, Kyungah Ham, Haegue Yang, Sungsic Moon, and Suki Seokyeong Kang. Also a regular participant in international art fairs including Art Basel, in which the gallery has taken part since 1998, Kukje Gallery remains deeply committed to establishing dialogue with international audiences previously unacquainted with Korean art.
Equally as important, Kukje Gallery supports important postwar Korean artists including Kwon Young-Woo, Park Seo-Bo, Ha Chong-Hyun, and Lee Ufan. Internationally recognized as the leading champion of “Dansaekhwa (also known as the Korean Monochrome),” Kukje Gallery has introduced these seminal artists into the global art scene. As Collateral Event of the 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2015, the gallery mounted an unprecedented exhibition of Dansaekhwa artists, celebrating these important figures and providing essential context to recognize their historical contributions. The following year, the gallery launched another special exhibition in collaboration with the Boghossian Foundation in Brussels, titled When Process Becomes Form: Dansaekhwa and Korean Abstraction. In 2018, Shanghai’s Powerlong Museum presented Korean Abstract Art: Kim Whanki and Dansaekhwa, the first-ever comprehensive exhibition of Korean abstract art to be held in China, which established a platform for continued dialogue on the aesthetic impact and ongoing importance of Dansaekhwa internationally.

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