ABOUT BB&M

Beginning in 2009 as a curatorial advisory in Seoul, BB&M has played a formative role in elevating some of the most acclaimed contemporary Korean artists onto the international stage. Now an independent gallery, BB&M is led by James B. Lee (Founding Principal) and Si Young Hur (Principal), whose extensive experience as director and partner in Seoul's leading galleries includes exhibitions of such artists as Thomas Struth, Olafur Eliasson, and Liam Gillick.

 

The gallery inaugurated its current space in 2021 with a solo exhibition of Lee Bul, widely regarded as the premier Korean artist of her generation. Building on this foundation, BB&M maintains a multigenerational roster that encompasses established figures like Bae Young-whan and Jinjoon Lee as well as a vanguard of younger artists including Sikyung Sung, Haevan Lee, Joe Jae, and Dahoon Nam. Their practices—spanning painting and sculpture to installation and digital media—are complemented by rising international voices such as Alex Dodge and Miko Veldkamp, who bring diverse visual cultures to the gallery's program.

 

Since its inception, BB&M has sought to integrate curatorial perspectives from outside the commercial sector—inviting, for instance, the former New Museum curator Dan Cameron to organize an exhibition. The gallery has also embraced adjacent disciplines, exemplified by the recent show dedicated to the artistic practice of leading Korean architect Byoung Cho. These initiatives underscore BB&M's long‑term mission to build a program that sustains an expansive engagement with the breadth of contemporary visual culture.

  • ABOUT THE PRINCIPALS

    ABOUT THE PRINCIPALS

    Founding Principal

    James B. Lee's decades-long career in the art world spans the editorial, institutional, and commercial sectors. Before establishing BB&M, he served as the director of exhibitions for the Gwangju Biennale Foundation and head of exhibitions at Art Sonje Center, Seoul, and was a partner at PKM Gallery. His perspective is further informed by his experience as a contributor to leading international art publications. Lee was trained in finance at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, before earning a master's in writing from Columbia University, New York.

     

    Principal

    Si Young Hur's background integrates firsthand knowledge of artistic practice with extensive experience in gallery management. She earned a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Hong Ik University, where she studied with Park Seo-bo. After completing studies in art management at ICART, Paris, she began her career in the commercial sector at a Paris gallery exhibiting Lee Ufan. Upon returning to Seoul, she served as director at Gallery Hyundai and PKM Gallery, and subsequently as a partner at Gallery Baton, before joining BB&M.