A New Curator Takes On New York to Promote Korean Art
Korean born curator Irene Gong is making a notable impression on New York’s art scene by showcasing Korean artists and their innovative work. She’s not only introducing these artists to the city but also adding fresh, exciting perspectives to New York’s cultural conversation. It started with Kimin Kim No Leaf Will Be Shaken, a graduate from Rhode Island School of Design, whose works caught Gong’s eye. Since then she has nurtured relationships with multiple Korean artists, based in the United States and beyond, with plans to show them at Space776 and further afield.
At Space776, Gong greets me with a warm hug as I arrive to view her latest exhibition at the gallery located on the Lower East Side. Soft opera music plays in the background, subtly enhancing the atmosphere—a fitting touch, given that the artist, Kejoo Park, draws inspiration from classical music. I had heard about Gong’s curatorial capabilities from the team at Space776, and she met with me upon my return to the city after spending a few days upstate. “Harmonious,” I remark as I take in the paintings by landscape architect and visual artist Kejoo Park. Park’s debut solo exhibition is rich with references to art history, landscape, nature, and the built environment. “With great affection, Park named this series ‘The Song of the Earth,’ mirroring the title of the late Romantic composer Gustav Mahler’s symphony, originally Das Lied von der Erde in German. For this series, she created seven paintings, each titled after one of the seven songs of the symphony,” Gong explains. Park immersed herself in the wilderness, capturing photos of landscapes, sketching, and listening to Mahler’s music—who, like her, was influenced by Li Bai’s poetry—and studying Li Bai’s Taoist philosophy. Gong continues, “Park’s works are a perfect blend of art, nature, and humanity. She combines her deep appreciation for the study of humanity and culture—including music, philosophy, poetry, and literature—and integrates these elements into her art in a unique way.”
Gong’s most recent exhibitions have engaged with nature as well as her own solo exhibition titled Nature & Tradition: “I’ve always been a naturalist, but at the same time, I enjoy having full access to the infrastructure, arts, and culture available in the city. I’ve always believed that if I appreciate both, nature should come to me in my surroundings rather than me having to travel far to experience it.,” she explains. Gong developed a keen interest in curation after attending painting classes at Gana Atelier in Korea with the renowned Korean contemporary artist Sara Lee. Under Lee’s direction, she curated her own works at a gallery built in Korean traditional architecture in Seoul, a significant hub for contemporary art in Asia. She comments, “This was my first time deeply reflecting on what I truly love and finding the confidence to paint and present my own story through art. Since then, I decided to return to New York to study contemporary art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art and pursue a career in the art world.”
After working at prestigious art galleries and an auction house, Gong joined the team to pave the way for her debut as a curator. Her first show at Space776 featured work by Kimin Kim, who is based in New York and Seoul. No Leaf Will Be Shaken presented drawings and paintings that, as the press release states, explore the artist’s “understanding of the motion and structure of the perennial flowers that underpin his practice.” Gong also mentioned that she sourced 1,000 stems of flowers to create a fully immersive experience for Kim’s exhibition. “When visitors and friends walked into the gallery, they absolutely loved the exhibition as they felt like they were walking into Kim’s garden,” she says with a smile. The gallery has outposts in both New York and Seoul and will participate in Volta New York this year, with a thriving expansion of programs planned for the upcoming years that Gong certainly will be part of.
With Kejoo Park, Gong is organizing a traveling exhibition that spans about 3-4 countries in major cities presenting The Earth Project 2—an interdisciplinary art project involving participatory events in public spaces—beginning in 2025. It was this series that attracted Gong to Park’s artistic practice. “The moment I saw her catalogue with the site images, ideas, and construction sketches, I fell in love with her overall architectural approach to conceiving her art.” Park studied Painting at Cornell and Landscape Architecture at Harvard, which has led her to explore the merger of these two interests—Land Art. After moving to Europe to broaden her scope as a landscape architect, she taught Landscape Planning and Ecology at the University of Stuttgart in Germany. “I love how she consciously expresses her passion for sustainability and the use of nature to bring local communities together through her work,” Gong says excitedly, continuing: “My aim is to gradually expand my curatorial scope to curate experiential public art projects in urban cities.”
Gong is well on her way to realizing her dream of producing ambitious public art projects, having recently founded PPULI PROJECT, an international curatorial organization where she will focus on curating, commissioning, and supporting public art projects placed in urban environments on an annual basis. Simultaneously, she will concentrate on solo or debut exhibitions for emerging and mid-career Korean artists in New York. I was truly impressed by not only her passion but curatorial talent in presenting these artists in varied ways. Coming full circle, and referencing her inaugural exhibition of her own work, she concludes: “I would like to emphasize the ‘solo’ aspect because it is compelling and focused on one person’s storytelling.”
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