Foundry Seoul, a contemporary art gallery, has opened in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, presenting Berlin-based artist Henning Strassburger and Seoul-based experimental design duo Kanghyuk in its inaugural exhibition.

The gallery is housed in the same building as the newly opened Gucci store, the Italian luxury brand’s second flagship store in Korea. The Hannam-dong neighborhood is fast rising as a new art hub with several international galleries opening in the area. 

"We have two exhibition spaces. While we will introduce ‘blue-chip’ emerging international artists at the main exhibition hall, the specialized independent space will be used to showcase experimental works from a variety of genres,” said Chloe Yoon, managing director of the gallery. “We are also expecting synergy with the neighboring Gucci.”

Foundry Seoul is a subsidiary of TK Corp., a Busan-based pipe fittings manufacturing company.

Strassburger’s first solo exhibition in Seoul, “Oh Bad Boy,” featuring the artist’s paintings, large-scale wall painting and installations are on exhibition at the gallery’s main hall. Strassburger has explored the possibilities of the role of painting in an image and digital saturated culture through expressive abstract paintings of images around him. The paintings’ titles are inspired by songs from his music playlists, lines from mafia films and quotes from novels.

Byfoundry, an independent 33-square-meter space within the gallery, aims to present experimental and innovative creations by emerging artists working in a variety of genres. Works by Seoul-based experimental design duo Kanghyuk are currently on show at Byfoundry. 

The fashion label comprising Choi Kang-hyuk and Shon Sang-lak, both graduates of Royal College of Art who studied menswear, explores mass-produced artificial objects, posing questions about sustainability. The team detaches industrial materials such as airbags, nylon and polyester from their original functional contexts and reconstitutes them as new objects through a manual labor-intensive process.

At the current exhibition titled “Repeat,” the design duo showcases airbag-based works, presenting new aspects of the materials used to make airbags.

“Oh Bad Boy” and “Repeat” run through July 25.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)