The bustling Seoul art world will soon be home to another powerhouse international gallery.
Gladstone Gallery—which has a trio of spaces in New York, one in Brussels, and an office in Los Angeles—has secured a location in the tony Gangnam district. An opening date has not yet been set.
“We are very happy to share the news that Gladstone will officially begin to expand its physical footprint to Asia,” the gallery’s founder, Barbara Gladstone, said in a statement. “We have a long history of artists showing at some of Korea’s most prestigious institutions, including a significant exhibition for Matthew Barney at the Leeum in 2005, and many more.”
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The venture will be helmed by HeeJin Park, an alum of Seoul’s heavyweight Kukje Gallery who has worked for Gladstone out of South Korea for more than a year. “This is an exciting moment for the gallery and the greater Seoul art world,” Park said. “The Gangnam area of the city is a vibrant location with its own burgeoning art scene, so we are happy to embed ourselves into the fabric of this neighborhood at this significant moment of growth.”
The news comes as top-tier dealers from abroad have been racing to open and expand in the capital city. Next month, Thaddaeus Ropac is due to open in Hannam-dong, the same neighborhood where Pace just inaugurated a two-floor exhibition venue. König Galerie alighted earlier this year in an MCM store in Gangnam, which is also home to luxe art spaces operated by Louis Vuitton and Hermès. Other foreign outfits with Seoul locations include Perrotin, Lehmann Maupin, and Various Small Fires.
And then there is Frieze, the London art fair giant, which has said it will collaborate with the Galleries Association of Korea to start its first Asian fair next September at the COEX convention center, which is also in Gangnam.
Gladstone Gallery, which marked its 40th anniversary last year, has been in an expansionist mode of late. It christened its L.A office this summer, and took on the influential dealer Gavin Brown as a partner last year, bringing aboard a dozen of his artists. Its roster includes Ian Cheng, Carroll Dunham, Cyprien Gaillard, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Thomas Hirschhorn, and Anicka Yi.