Gana Art Center’s chairman Lee Ho-jae has established an art foundation that will support artists and art projects, preserve art materials and set up a new museum.

Lee has contributed some 200 pieces from his extensive collection of Korean art to the Gana Foundation for Arts and Culture.

He runs the Gana Art Center, Seoul Auction and artist residency programs in Korea and Paris.

“The foundation will support exhibitions and artists that might not otherwise be recognized. It will also provide Lee’s lifetime collections to the outside for more members of the public to view,” said Kim Hyung-kook, board chair of the foundation, at the press conference on Tuesday.

His private collection includes major works by Korean artists that can offer an overview of the history of Korean art, according to Youn Bum-mo, executive director of the foundation.

In the second half of this year, the foundation plans to hold an exhibition of works by artists who defected to North Korea. Displaying their pieces was once banned. Another planned exhibition will deal with part of Lee’s art collection.

A long-term goal of the foundation is to establish a museum, and it envisions a private, one-of-a-kind museum, Kim said.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)