Gagosian to show Derrick Adams at gallery's first Seoul exhibition

Gagosian, one of the largest international galleries today, will hold its debut exhibition in South Korea in September, presenting new works by multidisciplinary artist Derrick Adams, whose work expands narratives of Black life and culture.

The exhibition “Derrick Adams: The Strip” will kick off Sept. 3 at APMA Cabinet, a project space on the ground floor of the Amorepacific Headquarters in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. The exhibition will coincide with the third edition of Frieze Seoul slated to run Sept. 4 to 7.

“Presenting a Gagosian exhibition in Seoul has been one of our key objectives since I joined the gallery (last year), and we pursued a captivating and fresh approach for this important moment,” Lee Ji-young, who leads the gallery’s operations in South Korea, told The Korea Herald on Tuesday.

"In an effort to differentiate (ourselves) from typical group show formats seen at fair booths, we aimed to present a dedicated solo exhibition that strikes a perfect balance between curatorial excellence and market attraction. And Derrick embodies this vision beautifully," she said.

Gagosian is the first gallery to run an exhibition at the Korean beauty conglomerate’s headquarters, according to the gallery. The headquarters building -- designed by Pritzker-winning architect David Chipperfield -- houses the Amorepacific Museum of Art.

“We are thrilled to be hosting our inaugural exhibition in Seoul … The venue is an ideal location to celebrate Derrick Adams’s first exhibition in Korea and to share his work with such an important community of art enthusiasts and collectors,” said Nick Simunovic, Gagosian senior director, in a press release.

In this latest body of work, New York-based Adams has made a series of paintings inspired by the display windows of beauty supply stores near his Brooklyn studio and around the world, according to Gagosian.

"He is an extraordinary artist garnering significant attention in today’s international art scene. Derrick’s works feature a distinctive visual language, developing an iconography centered on the joy, celebration, and confidence of Black culture," said Lee, explaining how the artist's multidisciplinary approach, employing a range of materials with bold colors and expressions, makes him an ideal choice for Gagosian’s first Seoul project.

The exhibition is scheduled to run through Oct. 12.