Art Class: Inside the new blind spots @PKM gallery
A trip to Seoul for me would not be complete without a trip to the Jongno-gu area and with it many of the amazing galleries a short walk from Anguk station. Funnily enough five years ago when I quit my job and had nothing better to do I found myself wandering around the neighbourhoods eating at trendy cafes and gorging myself on artwork until finally I stumbled upon the gem that was PKM gallery. A tiny gallery in the heart of Northern Seoul with an interesting interior and even more interesting shows. PKM has been running since 2001 and has exhibited many works from celebrated local Korean artists as well as international ones. That time in 2017, the work was by Icelandic–Danish artist Olafur Eliasson whose work with coloured glass, light and reflections has always fascinated me and as coincidence would have it, five years on the same artist’s work was on display again in 2022. I always said that his work lends itself perfectly to the Korean art scene because a lot of it is pretty and aesthetic in a way which even a layman like myself can appreciate and the Korean public can interact with through photo since social media and content creation is huge here. As a result interactiveness is a big part of gallery exhibitions as many like to capture themselves while capturing the art. A lot of his work focuses on the environment which is also ever relevant. His new pieces as well as his older colour spectrum series keeps our eyes busy as we take in the differences of light and shapes that he creates on canvas and through sculpture.
I adore PKM and I can’t wait to go back and discover more Korean artists. If you are someone who loves art or like me just wants to know more, I can’t recommend PKM gallery more!
