Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 219

During his studies in America, Seok-jung and Seok-ho lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia was a glamorous city with tall, luxurious skyscrapers like the Comcast Center, which is nearly 1000 feet tall.

At the same time, it was a city where half-ruined buildings, run-down liquor stores, areas with a lot of crime, and homeless people all existed together.

Philadelphia, once the capital of the United States, shows all of America’s history and change.

Seok-ho had lived in this city, which had both rich and poor areas, for almost ten years.

He lived in an area where the nice part of the city met the run-down part.

Unlike Seok-jung, who lived in a rich neighborhood, Seok-ho didn’t get money from his family, so he lived closer to the line between the wealthy and poor areas.

The Fernhill Art Gallery, where Seok-ho worked, was in northern Philadelphia.

“I was the first person to work at the Fernhill Art Gallery. When it first opened, they hired me as a curator,” Seok-ho said.

The Fernhill Art Gallery was the first building designed by Kyle Nison, an architect from Philadelphia.

He wasn’t as famous as Bruno yet, but he was a promising architect who had been getting more and more attention since he designed the Fernhill Art Gallery in his early forties.

This simple rectangular art gallery, built with grayish-white bricks, brought new artistic life to the old downtown area of northern Philadelphia.

“Before, there weren’t many interesting places around Germantown, except for Fernhill Park. At first, I thought this Fernhill Art Gallery was just a normal building,” Seok-ho explained.

Seok-ho took the job at the Fernhill Art Gallery because it let him work as a real curator.

Most of the famous galleries in America didn’t want to hire an Asian person who had just finished university as a curator, but the new Fernhill Art Gallery was happy to hire him.

Also, it was close to Seok-ho’s house, which was an extra bonus.

Because he had a degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Seok-ho was able to become a curator at the Fernhill Art Gallery.

“When I first started, I planned to get about two years of experience and then move to a famous gallery,” Seok-ho said.

“Oh, why is that?” someone asked.

“I didn’t think I could do well because of the location. At first, the gallery had some good art, but I didn’t think it was enough to get people excited, even people who really like art,” Seok-ho replied.

“Location problems…?”

“At that time, I thought art was only for rich people. The Fernhill Art Gallery was in an old downtown area,” Seok-ho explained.

Seok-ho’s stories seemed a bit random, but the other three were listening carefully.

Seok-jung had lived in Philadelphia too, so he found the old stories interesting.

The designers, Woo-jin and Bruno, could understand what Seok-ho was saying.

Seok-ho continued, “But about a year after the gallery opened, something amazing started to happen.”

“A miracle?”

Seok-ho nodded at Woo-jin’s question. “In a city known for factories and not art, culture and art started to become more popular.”

Seok-ho said it was like a miracle of architecture.

The simple design of the gallery building, a tall rectangle shape, looked surprisingly good with Fernhill Park.

The building fit in well with the poorer areas of Philadelphia, but it also had a modern and stylish design.

That feeling matched the art in the Fernhill Art Gallery, making it famous among art collectors.

“When I became the chief curator, about four years after the gallery opened, it was already a famous place in northern Philadelphia,” Seok-ho said.

“Are you talking about the gallery?”

“Yes. Because of that, I realized something,” Seok-ho answered.

Seok-ho paused before continuing. “The design and beauty of the gallery are just as important as the art inside.”

Seok-ho’s story went on for a bit, but that was the main point.

He also wanted to talk about his dream of building a gallery to the two architects.

But he thought it was too soon to talk about that since it was their first meeting.

However, Seok-ho was happy to share his ideas about architecture with the two great architects.

“I really want to visit that Fernhill Art Gallery someday,” Bruno said.

Seok-ho smiled. “It’s a wonderful place. I think you two would find it really inspiring.”

Woo-jin nodded. “I want to see the gallery and meet the architect, Kyle Nison. If he designed such a great building, I could learn a lot from him.”

Seok-ho smiled and said, “I don’t know him personally, but the gallery director might be able to help you contact him.”

The atmosphere was warm and friendly.

The four of them talked for another hour.

Everyone there had lived interesting lives.

Just sharing their stories made for a fun conversation.

But the meeting couldn’t last much longer.

The event was ending, and Bruno and Woo-jin had other things to do.

“Thanks to you, I learned about something new,” Woo-jin said.

Seok-ho shook his hand and replied, “I had a great time meeting such a wonderful designer.”

Seok-ho took out his business card and said to Woo-jin, “If it’s okay, can I contact you sometime soon?”

Woo-jin nodded. “Of course. Let’s meet with Seok-jung next time.”

“Sounds good,” Seok-ho replied.

Woo-jin took out a business card and gave it to Seok-ho.

The business card said:

[Artpia]

[Art investment agency]

[Art curator]

[Director Seok-ho Lim]

Seok-ho worked at the Fernhill Art Gallery for ten years.

During that time, the gallery became more and more famous, and Seok-ho became a talented curator.

He didn’t want to brag to Bruno and Woo-jin.

After about seven years, Seok-ho was so well-known in the art world that people called him the ‘Philadelphia Midas touch’. He had a talent for making artists famous.

The new artists he found and showed at the gallery all became famous.

Even his close friend Seok-jung didn’t know this.

Artpia, the art investment business that Seok-ho had started in the United States, had almost ten million dollars in assets, even though it didn’t have its own gallery.

That’s why Seok-ho’s father, who was the chairman of a big company, finally accepted him.

Seok-ho had a dream.

When he went back to Korea, he wanted to have his own art gallery with the art he had collected.

The first step was to find an architect to design the gallery for him.

Seok-ho and Seok-jung were going to Sinsadong after saying goodbye to Bruno and Woo-jin.

They were talking about the meeting.

“So, that’s why you met Bruno?” Seok-jung asked.

Seok-ho shook his head. “No, not really. It would be great if a famous architect like him could design my gallery, but I want something a bit different.”

Seok-ho wasn’t just looking for a famous architect.

He wanted an architect who could understand his taste in art and his collection, and design a gallery that would be perfect for them.

Since he didn’t know much about architecture, he wanted to learn more by talking to Bruno.

But at the meeting, Seok-ho met someone he didn’t expect: Woo-jin.

When he heard that Woo-jin had designed the pavilion, he was very interested.

The gallery he wanted was a building that would fit well with his art collection.

Woo-jin’s pavilion looked perfect with the space designed by Bruno, even though they weren’t the same architect.

“Ah, so you want Woo-jin to design the gallery,” Seok-jung said.

Seok-ho chuckled. “Not yet.”

“Really?”

“I like him, but I need to find out more,” Seok-ho replied.

“About Woo-jin’s skills?”

“No. He’s already proven his skills with the pavilion.”

“Then what do you want to find out?”

“If his style of architecture matches my taste in art,” Seok-ho explained.

Woo-jin didn’t know much about this.

If Woo-jin designed the gallery for Seok-ho’s company, Artpia, it would be a great addition to his portfolio.

Seok-ho’s art collection is already very valuable.

If Woo-jin designed a beautiful building that fit well with the art, it would also become famous.

“Well, if you need anything, let me know. Woo-jin is a really good guy,” Seok-jung said.

“Hehe, thanks,” Seok-ho replied.

Seok-jung was excited about what might happen.

Seok-ho was one of the most amazing people he knew.

He was curious to see what would happen if Woo-jin, who was also amazing, worked with him.

He wondered how this meeting would affect Woo-jin’s future.