Overview
Albus Gallery, located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is Korea's first illustration-focused gallery, opened in May 2017. Its name comes from the Latin word 'ALBUS,' meaning 'white,' the source of all images. Reminiscent of dried white paper, Albus Gallery aims to showcase artists' own stories, like an open book holding stories on a white background. It introduces illustration works that have rarely been recognized as art until now to audiences, and strives to create a culture where adults and children can appreciate and enjoy not only the illustrations in picture books and fairy tales popular with children, but also all the beautiful illustrations with stories. Built by architect Choi Wook with one basement floor and four above-ground floors, the building was designed from the start as an illustration gallery. The underground exhibition room housing Sunken Garden and the storage room built for storing artworks are connected to the ground level via the garden and stairs inside the building, with the main exhibition halls located on the first and second floors. The main exhibition hall on the second floor is designed with an 8-meter-high exhibition space with a light well extending to the third floor, and a space overlooking the tree forest across the street. Next to the office on the third floor, where birdsong rings clearly, there is also an exhibition space where you can enjoy picture books and videos by the author.