1988 residential building hosts frieze’s exhibition space in seoul
Frieze expands its presence in Asia with the launch of Frieze House Seoul, a permanent exhibition space in Yaksu-dong, designed to operate year-round and complement the city’s flourishing contemporary art scene. Samuso Hyoja renovates the 1988 residential building, which is set to host gallery residencies, curated exhibitions, and special projects, creating opportunities for collaboration between local and international artists. A permanent site-specific installation by SANAA activates the landscaped garden, where aluminum and stainless steel seats collect rainwater and mirror the contours of the house and surrounding greenery.
Its debut exhibition, UnHouse, curated by Jae Seok Kim, reinterprets the concept of home through queer perspectives, occupying every corner of the multi-room house to explore identity, power, care, and memory.
all images courtesy of Frieze
permanent site-specific installation by sanaa anchors the garden
The house itself, renovated by Seoul-based studio Samuso Hyoja with project management by multidisciplinary creative collective Our Labour, maintains traces of its original Western-style construction, including tiled glass windows, exposed beams, staircases, and textured stone walls. Skylights, glass panels, and a tactile rounded stone cladding meet warm wooden floors and lush landscaping, showing how contemporary elements coexist with the home styles of 1980s Korea. The landscaped garden features a permanent site-specific installation by Japanese architects SANAA, part of their ongoing exploration of form and function, with aluminum and stainless steel seats that collect rainwater and extend into floral motifs.
Frieze launches a permanent exhibition space in Yaksu-dong, Seoul
UnHouse Transforms Rooms into Sites of Experimentation
UnHouse activates these architectural features, transforming rooms, corridors, and stairwells into immersive environments. Works by both emerging Korean and internationally recognized artists, including Anne Imhof, Catherine Opie, Haneyl Choi, Lee Dong-hyun, and Joeun Kim Aatchim, interrogate the home as both a site of imposed norms and a space for refuge and experimentation. The exhibition challenges visitors to navigate domestic space in new ways by positioning artworks as hosts, strangers, or spectral presences, foregrounding the political and personal dimensions of intimacy.
Frieze House Seoul follows the model of No.9 Cork Street in London, providing an ongoing stage for exhibitions outside the constraints of a fair calendar.
a permanent site-specific installation by SANAA activates the landscaped garden
the house maintains traces of its original Western-style construction
skylights, glass panels, and a tactile rounded stone cladding meet warm wooden floors
Frieze House Seoul is renovated by Samuso Hyoja with project management by Our Labour
set to host gallery residencies, curated exhibitions, and special projects
UnHouse, its debut exhibition, activates these architectural features
project info:
name: Frieze House Seoul | @friezeofficial
renovation architect: Samuso Hyoja
location: Yaksu-dong, Seoul, South Korea
collaborators: Our Labour | @our_labour (project management), SANAA | @sanaa_jimusho (permanent garden installation)
The post frieze opens year-round exhibition space in seoul with rain-collecting installation by SANAA appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.