At Lotte Hotel, Kim opens up Seoul's artistic identity

Korea Herald

4 days ago

Gallerist Kim Soo-hyun hopes to continue legacy of Bando Gallery at hotel in central Seoul as gateway to Korean art for foreign guests
Entering the Lotte Hotel Seoul's executive tower, paintings by Kim Tschang-yeul, whose iconic water-drop paintings are globally known, immediately catch the eye.
The artist, who died in 2021 at age 91, expressed his traumatic experiences by painting water drops. He fled from the North to the South during the 1950-53 Korean War. Presenting the paintings at the five-star hotel is gallerist Kim Soo-hyun, who runs The L. Collection located inside the hotel.
'I happened to see Kim's water-drop paintings ― probably in 1997 before I left for Europe for a government-funded group exchange program. They looked so delicate and precise. It felt as if I flicked one, it would burst open and everything would come pouring out,' Kim recalled during an interview with The Korea Herald on July 9.
Once she started collecting art, it was a Kim painting that she sought. 'I wanted it so badly ― I was dying to have it,' she said.
Other paintings on display inside the gallery include those by Korean contemporary art masters Kim Whan-ki, Ha Chong-hyun and Oh Se-yeol, offering a glimpse of contemporary Korean art history.
Before opening the gallery at Lotte Hotel Seoul at the end of 2022, she had been running Showum Gallery in Daegu since 2016. The gallery, housed in a six-story building, has six exhibition halls presenting shows of established Korean artists. The six-story building houses six exhibition halls presenting mostly established Korean artists' shows.
Lotte Hotel Seoul is located where Bando Hotel once stood. The hotel, built in 1936 during the Japanese colonial era (1910-45) and closed in 1974, had housed Bando Gallery, one of few Korean commercial galleries after liberation. The story of how Korean modern artist Park Soo-keun made a living by selling works at the gallery is a widely known one.
'I often heard stories about Bando Gallery from elderly relatives. Even now, the name 'Bando' comes to mind when I come here,' she said.
When she made up her mind to open a space in Seoul, she had a couple of sites in mind, including Pyeongchang-dong, a northern Seoul neighborhood known as a haven for cultural elites and artists. However, she decided to open the space at the hotel in central Seoul with the legacy of the Bando Gallery, she said.
The decision was largely influenced by Kim's experience traveling abroad, witnessing how hotels or accommodations housed art pieces, which naturally exposed her to the culture of the country.
'During those trips, the hotels that have a good sense of artistic identity, whether there are renowned sculptures or famous Picasso paintings on display, remain strong in my memory for a long time. Those images with the space stay with me even after 20 or 30 years.
'That's how the idea of opening a gallery within a hotel first came to me,' Kim said.
Looking back on the past decades, she finds South Korea has grown culturally affluent across many fields of art, but she has always thought that five-star hotels here could be better engrained with meaningful art.
It is not only about elevating the stature of the space, but also providing cultural experiences for guests in Seoul.
In 2022, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stayed at the Lotte Hotel Seoul, she recalled.
'Foreign dignitaries and VIPs, many of them do not have time to visit museums or explore the city. Their schedules are so packed, often flying in and out within a matter of few days. If they are in Seoul, what impression would be left with them beyond business meetings? Visual memory lasts,' she emphasized.
In 2023, The L. Collection showed the solo exhibition 'Blossom' of Korean artist Chon Byung-hyun, who has explored traditional mulberry paper, known as hanji, in his works for more than 20 years. After studying in Paris, the artist started to reflect Korean cultural elements in his works, and his artistic process includes using hanji relief and stone power. The artist often uses the theme of white porcelain.
Kim said she tries to start from the heart of a collector when organizing an exhibition.
'I make sure to make a purchase of the artist's work beforehand, because I believe I need to experience what it feels like to be a collector of their works, to stand in the client's shoes. If it continues to resonate with me over time, I will move forward with the exhibition, contacting the artist," she said.
'This way, I have never regretted an exhibition that I held, and I would say none of them have ever failed.'
Among recent exhibitions in Daegu, the solo show of Yoo Geun-taek was a popular one, she said, with the artist's 48 paintings selling out. The artist, 60, captures everyday scenes such as fountains, infused with traditional Korean mediums.
'I have a deep sense of respect for the artists from the older generation. I often find myself wondering, 'What kind of heart did the artist carry through the Korean War and to the present day?'" she said. "I can feel the artistic sensitivity that captures the spirit of their times in their works.'
Kim is planning to show a solo exhibition of Korean painter Oh Se-yeol at The L. Collection at the end of this year, shedding light on how the artist whose intuitive painting style reminiscent of scribbling and scraping-off manner was inspired by experiences from the artist's younger years after the Korean War, when canvases were hard to come by and he drew on blackboards.