South Korea’s Gallery KIWA opened its second space in London’s Mayfair neighborhood on February 20th. Located in a restored former fashion and art building on Albermarle Street, the gallery neighbors surrounding blue-chip galleries including Thaddaeus Ropac, David Zwirner, and Gagosian.
“KIWA has a deep commitment to London and its thriving creative community, and we feel so honored to bring our artists’ work to Mayfair, in this very special building area in the city,” said the gallery’s director, C.J. Chun, in a press statement.
Since it was founded in 2011, Gallery KIWA has carved out a reputation in the Seoul art scene for platforming emerging artists such as Hyosook Kim and Takeru Amano, as well as participating in major South Korean art fairs such as KIAF Seoul and Art Busan. The gallery said in its statement that it plans to mount four public exhibitions a year in its new London space. Its first show, “In the Flow,” is a solo presentation of works by South Korean artist Hong Sooyeon, which runs through April 19th. The artist is known for her works influenced by East Asian art philosophies, the Korean Minimalism (Dansaekhwa) movement, and postwar Western abstraction. Her works have been exhibited in institutions including the Saatchi Gallery in London and the Ilmin Museum in Seoul.
“We look forward to strengthening our connection to London, its culture, and its artists with our programming at this historic site,” added Chun.
Gallery KIWA’s opening comes at a time of flux in the London art world. Earlier this month, the Wroclaw, Poland–based gallery Krupa opened a new London space in Clerkenwell. This was preceded by the opening of the new gallery SLQS, focusing on women and queer artists, in Shoreditch, East London. Other notable newcomers include influential Istanbul gallery Dirimart, which announced a new space in the center of Mayfair, opening later this year; and international powerhouse Perrotin, which is set to open a new space in Claridge’s, the five-star Mayfair hotel, next month.
Meanwhile, however, local tastemaker TJ Boulting—renowned for its program of women photographers—announced that it would be closing its gallery after 13 years in Fitzrovia.
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