Jongno District to Open "Kim Chang-yeol House of the Artist" on May 29

Pyeongchang-dong Studio Opens to the Public
24 Works Featured in Opening Exhibition

On May 20, Jongno District in Seoul announced that it will open the "Kim Chang-yeol House of the Artist" at 74 Pyeongchang 7-gil, Pyeongchang-dong on May 29, and will hold a commemorative opening exhibition titled "Kim Chang-yeol, Traces of Water Droplets" on the same day.

Interior view of artist Chang-Yeol Kim's house (basement studio). Provided by Jongno-gu.

The Kim Chang-yeol House of the Artist is the only studio in Korea where the late artist Kim Chang-yeol, who passed away in 2021, lived and created for over 30 years with his family. In accordance with the artist's wish to open his studio to the public during his lifetime, Jongno District entered into a business agreement with his family, purchased the residence, and transformed it into a public cultural facility.

The remodeling was completed in March by architects Choi Sooyeon and Hong Jaeseung, who previously participated in designing the Jeju Kim Chang-yeol Art Museum. The first floor houses two planned exhibition halls, while the former living space on the second floor has been converted into a ticket office and a cafe. The basement studio has been restored as closely as possible to its original state, allowing visitors to directly experience the artist’s creative space.

The opening exhibition, “Kim Chang-yeol, Traces of Water Droplets,” focuses on the significance of the Pyeongchang-dong studio and highlights Kim’s “Hanji (Korean paper) works,” which play a major role in his artistic world. The studio, with its high ceilings and abundant natural light, was ideally suited for large-scale paintings and Hanji works.

The exhibition consists of a total of 24 works, including 19 paintings, 4 prints, and 1 drawing. Visitors can trace the evolution of Kim’s work from the 1970s through the 2010s. Both the preparatory and completed works of his representative series “Water Droplets” and “Recurrence” will be on display, along with rarely seen paper prints.

Water Droplets, 1998, Canvas, Acrylic Paint on Hanji Paper, 130×162cm, Collection of Jongno-gu. Courtesy of Jongno-gu.

The opening ceremony will be held at 3:30 p.m. on May 28, a day before the public opening, and will be attended by the artist's family and figures from the art world. The house will be open for viewing from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and will be closed every Monday.

A Jongno District official stated, "This opening exhibition marks the first time the studio, infused with the life and artistic world of Kim Chang-yeol, is being opened to the public," adding, "We hope that in the future, many people will be able to experience both the artist’s works and his creative space, establishing it as a representative cultural venue in Jongno."

Poster image of the opening exhibition at Kim Chang-Yeol Painter's House. Provided by Jongno-gu.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.