Lee Hyun-sook, founder and chairperson of Kukje Gallery, stands in her Seoul office, March 18, against the kaleidoscopic painitngs of nonagenarian sculptor Kim Yun-shin. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

"It blew my mind that a 90-year-old artist was still wielding a chainsaw to carve wooden sculptures. And her use of color — it was unlike anything I had seen in Korea."

That was the reaction of Lee Hyun-sook, founder and chairperson of Kukje Gallery in Seoul, upon first encountering nonagenarian artist Kim Yun-shin's work in 2023 — a series of freestanding wooden assemblages with organic forms reminiscent of sprouting plants or sacred totem poles.

For decades, much of the sculptor's creative labor remained in the shadows of the international art scene, even escaping the eyes of a seasoned gallerist like Lee. Why? Because Kim had been a "missing" figure, quite literally, since her spontaneous relocation to Buenos Aires in 1984 in search of an ideal material.

That all changed last year when Kukje Gallery, along with Lehmann Maupin, announced their joint representation of the artist — her first-ever partnership with commercial dealers. Just months later, eight of Kim's wooden and onyx sculptures were featured in the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, arguably the most prestigious platform for contemporary art.

Discovering Kim was "an unexpected blessing that fell right into my lap," the gallerist recalled, emphasizing how rare it was to find veteran female artists in Korea who had sustained their creative spirit over the years. For many, marriage and child-rearing meant the end of their artistic pursuits and the works that did survive from their short-lived careers were often too scarce.

Kim Yun-shin has long explored the intrinsic properties of wood, engaging deeply with its textures and forms while honoring its material essence. Her signature series, "Add Two Add One, Divide Two Divide One," which she began in 1978, was on view at her solo exhibition at Kukje Gallery last spring. Newsis

But this wasn't the first time Lee's Kukje Gallery had helped elevate underrecognized masters from Korea onto the global stage.

A decade ago, the gallery was instrumental in introducing a key group of postwar "dansaekhwa" monochromists to the Venice Biennale for the first time through a collateral exhibition.

"Until then, our gallery had been building strong networks with collectors around the world through the art fair circuit, primarily showcasing international blue-chip masters and mid-career Korean creatives. But while foreign audiences appreciated our roster, they were increasingly curious about Korea's deeper artistic roots," the 74-year-old explained, reflecting on what drove her to organize the exhibition.

The 2015 "Dansaekhwa" show featured works by Park Seo-bo, Lee Ufan, Kim Whanki, Ha Chong-hyun, Chung Sang-hwa, Chung Chang-sup and Kwon Young-woo.

The response was immediate. "I remember how the world was taken aback the moment ‘Dansaekhwa' was unveiled," the chairperson recalled. "And 10 years later, its demand in the global market remains as solid as ever."

The 2015 "Dansaekhwa" exhibition at the Venice Biennale featured works by seven Korean monochromists: Park Seo-bo, Lee Ufan, Kim Whanki, Ha Chong-hyun, Chung Sang-hwa, Chung Chang-sup and Kwon Young-woo. Courtesy of Kukje Gallery

The exhibition is widely credited with cementing dansaekhwa as a seminal postwar movement in 1970s Korea, as well as "an art historical period that could be digested by foreign audiences," according to ArtReview's Power 100 list, an annual ranking of the most influential figures in the art world. Partly due to the movement's sustained impact, Lee remains the only Korean to have appeared on the list for 10 consecutive years.

"It's almost a miracle that dansaekhwa emerged from a small country like Korea," the gallerist said.

"There was a time when these masters were in constant dialogue, meeting almost daily. And whether their works sold or not, they kept painting — so each ended up with hundreds of pieces. Because their paintings remained intact rather than being scattered around the globe, exhibiting them as a cohesive body became possible."

Currently, at its Seoul outpost, Kukje Gallery is hosting a solo exhibition of Ha Chong-hyun, one of the movement's key players. The show zooms in on around 30 works from his signature, labor-intensive "Conjunction" and "Post-Conjunction" series — ranging from his original monochromatic pieces to his latest creations, which feature vibrant color adaptations and notably rhythmic brushstrokes.

Installation view of the ongoing solo exhibition of "dansaekhwa" master Ha Chong-hyun at Kukje Gallery / Courtesy of Kukje Gallery

Navigating global shifts in Korean art

With 43 years of running the gallery under her belt, Lee has witnessed the many ups and downs of Korea's contemporary art scene. But it was only in the last decade — following the watershed moment of "Dansaekhwa" — that she began to sense a seismic shift.

More Korean artists have made their way to major biennales and museum shows worldwide. Auction records have been shattered, and with the arrival of Frieze Seoul in 2022, the city itself has quickly ascended as a new art-packed hub in the international market.

In a way, these shifts reflect a broader global movement to reevaluate the artistic expressions of the less-heralded non-Western majority spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and beyond. "People keep turning their gaze in this direction, constantly searching for something new," Lee said.

Kukje Gallery Founder Lee Hyun-sook speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at her Seoul office, March 18. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

One of the most striking changes she has observed is indeed the increasing physical presence of international galleries in Seoul. The long-term effect of this unprecedented influx of foreign dealers, she believes, will be the inevitable decline of homegrown galleries that fail to carve out a distinct identity of their own amid the heated competition.

"If galleries here don't develop their own curatorial programs and expand their base with a global eye, they simply won't survive," the chairperson noted.

Although Kukje Gallery has long been a forerunner in the field, it is also recalibrating its approach, particularly in shaping future exhibition programs and discovering new artists.

Since its founding in 1982, the gallery has largely focused on introducing international luminaries to Korean audiences, showcasing figures like Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Bill Viola and Jenny Holzer.

"For decades, we held the privilege of being one of the few leading galleries in Asia, which meant that artists from around the world were eager to exhibit with us. But now, with global dealers establishing a presence in Korea and national borders becoming increasingly irrelevant in the art world, the need to heavily promote foreign artists as we once did has diminished."

As a result, it is turning its focus more toward Korean creatives. "Their status in the global art scene has changed dramatically over the years. But to truly thrive, they must also strengthen their market competitiveness to stand alongside their international counterparts. That's where galleries [like us] come in."

Installation view of "Nature Rules," an ongoing solo exhibition of Choi Jae-eun at Kukje Gallery / Courtesy of Kukje Gallery

In addition to already representing creators like Yang Haegue, Suki Seokyeong Kang, Jung Yeon-doo and Choi Jae-eun, the dealer is also setting its sights on emerging talents and overlooked gems — veterans like Kim Yun-shin.

This year's exhibition lineup reflects that shift, featuring a summer group show spotlighting young painters, Gala Porras-Kim's first solo gallery exhibition here in fall and a December show by Jang Pa. Known for her often grotesque, almost putrefying canvases, Jang has actively deconstructed conventional sociocultural notions of femininity.

"To expand their global footprint, an artist needs that level of raw energy, so I told her to go all out," Lee said of Jang. "And I have no doubt she will. Her dynamism is truly something else."

Jang Pa's "A work of the 'Women/Figure: Mama Series'" (2023) / Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery

One pressing challenge for the Korean art scene moving forward, according to the gallerist, is the need to construct a cohesive lineage of the country's modern and contemporary art through proper archiving.

"For example, when we were staging the ‘Dansaekhwa' show, aside from Park Seo-bo, there was virtually no senior artist in Korea with a systematically maintained archive," she said.

Recognizing the importance of such preservation, Kukje Gallery has maintained a dedicated archival team for the past decade, amassing 30 years' worth of exhibition materials, press releases, postcards and curatorial plans.

At this year's Art Basel Hong Kong, which runs from Wednesday through Sunday, the gallery will spotlight Kim Yun-shin in the fair's Kabinett sector, presenting not only her sculptures and paintings but also archival materials to offer a multifaceted overview of her half-century-long practice.

What Lee envisions for Kukje Gallery's future will ultimately be shaped by her three children, each of whom plays an integral role in the business.

Tina Kim runs her own namesake gallery, Tina Kim Gallery, in New York, frequently collaborating with Kukje on art fairs and overseas exhibitions. Charles oversees the gallery's administrative and operational affairs, while Suzie leads its nonprofit foundation and education programs.

"As for myself, I want to bring things to a meaningful close," she said. "My final mission is to help our gallery cement even more Korean artists in the international scene. That, I believe, will be my last great task."