“More people go to museums, but the art market has been decreasing. It didn’t make sense to me. I thought we needed an accessible channel that introduces artworks to a wider audience,” said Park, a former consultant at Deloitte, in an interview at his office in Seoul last week.

After studying the Korean art market, he launched an online service that rents artworks to customers who can’t afford to buy them, but still want to enjoy art in their homes and offices.

The OPEN GALLERY has more than 4,000 artworks in their online database that are available for rent or purchase. Customers can browse the works on the website first and choose a piece that is right for their space and budget. The website offers detailed information about artworks, artists and prices needed for a customer to choose a piece of art. It costs 39,000 won ($32) to 300,000 won to rent a piece for one to three months.

“Everything can be done without going to galleries,” Park said. 

Park revealed that many of his customers had never been to a gallery and were hesitant to visit.

“A lot more people are intimidated at the thought of visiting galleries than we think. You see a lot of tourists on the streets of Insa-dong, but so few people inside galleries in the traditional art district,” said Park.

About 70 percent of the OPEN GALLERY customers are women in their 40s and 50s who frequently entertain friends and acquaintances in their home. But there are also growing numbers of corporate clients that subscribe to the three-month art rental service to bring changes to their work environments.

His client base has grown to include major companies such as Naver and large law firms. Profit at OPEN GALLERY, which was launched at the end of 2013, grew 300 percent from 2014 to 2015.

“Those with high-paid jobs don’t have time to go to museums and galleries. We are turning their offices into galleries,” he said. “I never saw someone who didn’t like to have artwork in their space.”

The OPEN GALLERY has also been an effective bridge linking young artists and art lovers.

Park discovered that very few artists make it to the top in the art world, let alone get exhibition opportunities.

“My longtime friend, an artist, told me it’s really hard to succeed as an artist no matter how good you are in this system,” he said.

“It was sad to hear one of our artists saying he regrets having been born with artistic talent,” he added. 

The curatorial team of OPEN GALLERY selects artists who are not well known, but demonstrate artistic quality and philosophy. The artists are in their early 20s to even 50s, and the majority of them are graduates of prestigious art colleges in Korea such as Hongik, Ewha Womans and Chung-Ang universities.

“They just didn’t have a chance to be known in the old art system,” Park said.

Park added that he thought the art market was one of the last fields where the benefits of technology have yet to reach.

“With technology, I think I can bring a change to the art world, bridging young artists and art lovers closer.”

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)