Where Life Imitates Art

Since its founding almost 40 years ago, Kukje Gallery has been a tastemaker in the global arts industry, representing significant Korean and international artists such as Park Seo-Bo, Lee Ufan, Louise Bourgeois, Anish Kapoor, Haegue Yang and Jenny Holzer. Its three spaces (K1, K2 and K3) are located near Gyeongbok Palace in the historic Jongno district, a neighbourhood dotted with cafes, boutiques and cultural institutions including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and The Blue House, the official presidential residence.

Now, after almost three years of planning, design and construction, the gallery has relaunched its three-storey K1 building with an updated cafe, restaurant and bar, in addition to a wellness and yoga centre and the gallery.

While architect Sooran Kim of OURStudio is behind the building's design and the first-floor cafe and exhibition space, designer Teo Yang was called on to create the wellness centre and restaurant, which now occupy the basement and second and third floors. Yang says he was briefed to focus on the art. ‘Displaying art can sometimes be intimidating for collectors due to the scale, colour and texture of the works,' he says. ‘So what Kukje wanted to do was showcase art in what they describe as an up close and personal way that allows viewers to feel the art in a real living space, and see and feel the colours and textures.'

The art was chosen for the key spaces before Yang began. ‘That's different to other projects where you'd first plan out the space and only afterwards select the art,' he says. ‘However, the Kukje team knew what they wanted to showcase in each of the main spaces. For example, Haegue Yang's installation was to be shown in the restaurant, Ugo Rondinone's work was to be incorporated in the wellness centre, and Louise Bourgeois's work would go in the women's locker area, since it represents femininity.'

Yang designed all the furniture and lighting himself, with each piece feeling handcrafted and being subtle and timeless enough to not detract from the artworks. A materials palette of cashmere, leather and sandstone was used to create a soothing and elegant atmosphere. And for Yang, the most challenging aspect was also the most enjoyable: laying out and designing the remaining spaces based on the pre-selected artwork arrangements. ‘Most of the time, our discussions were centred on which artwork to place in which room, and then deciding on the rest. For example, placing the treadmill next to Julian Opie's runners made complete sense, as did putting the water cooler near Park Seo-Bo's abstract painting to bring about a sense of peace and rest,' he says. ‘I really enjoyed using the art to add stories to the space.'

Teo Yang redesigned interiors in Kukje Gallery’s K1 building, now incorporating a wellness centre and restaurant, by first considering the artworks and then designing all of the furniture himself, making the pieces subtle and timeless so as not to detract from the art

Bottom The lounge area of the wellness space features original Pierre Jeanneret chairs and a landscape painting by Korean artist Kibong Rhee, which stand out against a neutral materials palette

Top left A Jenny Holzer bench greets yogis at the entrance to the wellness centre’s yoga studio Top right The restaurant’s bronze sliding door leads to the yoga studio, which can be used as an extension of the restaurant during events

Top A sculpture by Elmgreen & Dragset stands in the yoga hall’s outdoor courtyard

Bottom right In the gallery’s VIP dining room, the bar table sits in front of the kitchen hatch to allow guests to meet and talk with Chef Abe Koichi. Artwork by Lee Ufan elevates the experience

Bottom left A curvy banquette in the private gym offers a space to recharge between sets, below a Serge Mouille sconce and artwork by Park Seo-Bo

Middle Eye-level windows in the restaurant offer views of Gyeongbok Palace across the street