SPACE July 2026 (No. 704)
View of the studio on the second basement level. Because the underground space had no heating, Kim Tschang-Yeul always lit a fire in the stove before starting the day. ©glimworkers
Kim Tschang-Yeul Atelier
May 29 – August 23, 2026
We find ourselves in a spot where, over the ridge, the cityscape of Seoul comes into view and where Hyeongjebong Peak of Bukhansan Mountain is so close that one feels they could almost touch it. The late painter Kim Tschang-Yeul (1929 – 2021), a displaced person who spent his life in France longing for his homeland, settled in a quiet neighbourhood nestled in the hills of Pyeongchang-dong which closely resembled the landscape of his native Pyeongannam-do. Completed in 1988 and designed by Kyu Sung Woo at the artist’s request, the house was a courtyard-style residence with two above-ground floors and two basement levels. It fully embodied Kyu Sung Woo’s architectural philosophy, which emphasised the organic relationship between the building and nature through features such as skylights and a layout that naturally followed the sloping terrain. In this house, where living spaces above ground have been separated from the underground studio, Kim lived with his family and laboured over his work for more than 30 years.
This house, which is evocative of the artist’s life, became public property after Kim’s passing in 2021. When Jongno-gu Office purchased the residence in 2022 and completed registration as an Exceptional Architectural Asset of Seoul in 2023, the house was set to be reborn as a cultural space. The remodelling project to convert the building into an art museum was entrusted to PLAT/FORM Architecture (Choi Sooyoun, Hong Jaeseung) which had established a relationship with the artist a decade earlier while designing the Kim Tschang-Yeul Museum of Art, Jeju (2016). The museum, which was designed with the concept of ‘recurrence’ in mind as inspired by the conceptual meaning behind Kim Tschang-Yeul’s Water Drops series, features deep black exposed concrete boxes reminiscent of basalt that, through their 3 × 3 grid arrangement, guide visitors as they move between light (exhibition halls) and shadow (corridors).
The front façade of the Kim Tschang-Yeul Atelier, accessed from the northern road. The second floor, which previously served as the family’s living space, was...
