Gallerist Ro Doo-yong poses in his space, CYLINDER ONE, nestled in Seoul's Bongcheon-dong, Gwanak District, July 16, where it recently hosted a solo exhibition of emerging artist Yang Byeo-ri titled "Sedimentary Basin." Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk 33-year-old gallerist Ro Doo-yong to highlight fast-rising artist Lee Jong-hwan at Frieze Seoul By Park Han-sol Nestled between a home decor shop and a photo studio, a sleek, glass-faced white cube stands out as an unusual sight in Seoul's Bongcheon-dong, Gwanak District. This commuter town is not typically known for its art galleries, unlike the city’s more culturally vibrant neighborhoods such as Samcheong-dong, Hannam-dong, and Cheongdam-dong.
Yet, this unassuming spot, far from the commercial glitz and glamor, is where the meteoric rise of 33-year-old self-made gallerist Ro Doo-yong began. It was in 2020, after a four-year stay in Europe where he earned a master’s in sculpture from the Royal College of Art in London and completed a residency in Athens, that Ro returned to his hometown. Initially, he expected his homecoming to be a brief one — a preparatory phase before settling permanently as an artist in Britain.
However, the COVID-19 lockdowns upended his plans. Forced to stay indefinitely longer than anticipated, Ro searched for a space to use as a temporary artist studio and stumbled upon the unfrequented spot in Bongcheon-dong. “This was around the time I began reflecting on what it meant to be a young artist .