 The earth is round, but it's funny to see a flat projection and comprehend a round earth. Projections come in many shapes to create a more complete representation of a sphere. Although projections are not intended to be aesthetically pleasing, they are as aesthetic as paintings in that they stimulate the imagination far more than they do the eye– leading to a certain romanticization of the imagination. If the earth were flat and you walked in a straight line, no matter how far you traversed you would never meet someone as the ends of the earth would not meet. However, seeing something flat and imagining it as a sphere gives us a sense of fulfillment, as if satisfying a deficiency, and gives us the visual richness of a flat surface becoming three-dimensional. However, the sense of fulfillment will vary depending on the individual. And the nature of the figure is flat, hence the title. Because no matter how round I draw it, it's only flat...


Launched in 2022, ROY GALLERY currently operates four total exhibitions spaces located in the Apgujeong and Cheongdam neighborhoods of Seoul. Soon to open a new project space across from Dosan Park, the gallery seeks to solidify its position in the art world with an expansionistic and progressive mindset.  
ROY GALLERY actively engages with domestic and international artists through extensive research and exchange and embraces experimental genres through curatorial emphasis on creative exhibitions for collectors. As a new gallery, we develop programs that respectfully examine the core intrinsic values of artists and their works. By underscoring distinct and diverse projects, the gallery explores ways to appreciate art and creativity from its own unique perspective.

ROY GALLERY

Flat-Shaped Heart

International Dream

JaeBum Joo is a leading pixel artist from South Korea, developing a distinctive practice that bridges digital culture and painterly language.
Rooted in the 8-bit graphics of his childhood, his work merges nostalgia with contemporary technology, expanding pixels into color, form, and sensation. For Joo, pixels are not retro symbols but a visual language connecting animation, gaming, and painting.

CDA is a gallery stands for ‘Creative’, ‘Discovery’, and ‘Appreciation’. The gallery mainly presents creative activities in various fields of contemporary visual arts in the form of exhibitions. CDA exhibition mainly focuses on paintings but subjects to all kinds of genres and mediums such as sculpture, prints, photography, animation, and video. The form of the exhibitions is also balanced, with a mix of solo and group exhibitions, as well as art fairs and collaborative projects. We sincerely hope that our activities will serve as a spark for the realization of meaningful projects for creators(artists) and an opportunity for audiences to expand their inspiration and collecting.

City Hall

JaeBum Joo is a leading pixel artist from South Korea, developing a distinctive practice that bridges digital culture and painterly language. Rooted in the 8-bit graphics of his childhood, his work merges nostalgia with contemporary technology, expanding pixels into color, form, and sensation. For Joo, pixels are not retro symbols but a visual language connecting animation, gaming, and painting.

Seok Chon Lake

Olympic

Earth Pie

PIxel SK8 Stool

Stripping away the symbols that we indifferently encounter daily, Kim depicts the unreadable shapes on canvas. The artist’s refusal of readily accepted norms of social symbols feels both lighthearted and romanticized in her art.

Ultra-Contemporary

Artist JaeBum Joo is a leading figure in the realm of pixel art in South Korea, garnering international acclaim for his distinctive vision. He has collaborated with an array of prestigious global brands, including Google, Starbucks, Nexon, Gentle Monster, Adobe, Uniqlo, Hypebeast, and entertainment giants such as SM, YG, and JYP. Through these partnerships, he has firmly established himself as a singular force in the world of illustration, all while pursuing his personal artistic endeavours with unwavering curiosity and innovation.

His work is deeply rooted in personal experience and perception. Having discovered his artistic identity through the 8-bit graphics of the cartoons and animations he grew up with, he has seamlessly woven nostalgia with contemporary technology to cultivate a style uniquely his own. For him, pixels are not merely a nod to retro aesthetics; they serve as a bridge between digital interfaces—such as animation and gaming—and the language of traditional painting, unlocking new dimensions of expression. In his hands, pixels transcend their conventional role as the smallest unit of a screen, becoming colour, form, and a sensory experience in their own right.