(L-R) Christophe Duplay; Orie Duplay;
Credit: Elza Osmane, Chronicle.lu
On Thursday 24 September 2026, Artskoco art gallery in Luxembourg-Belair celebrated its ten-year anniversary, opening its three-day retrospective exhibition, showcasing works from more that 20 Korean artists who have helped to shape Artskoco since it first opened.
Taking place from Wednesday 23 to Friday 25 September 2026, the gallery is featuring a mix of paintings, ceramics, lacquers and sculptures, reflecting the diversity of contemporary Korean creation that the gallery has championed since it opened its doors a decade ago.
Founded in October 2016 by Orie and Christophe Duplay, Artskoco, who explained its mission as introducing the European public to Korea's contemporary art scene, with particular attention to emerging artists.
After personally greeting the more than 30 visitors, the couple opened the evening by recalling the beginnings of the gallery and how they started without any previous experience in the business.
Orie Duplay was an artist and soprano, while Christophe Duplay was an aerospace engineer. "We have no product, no client, no place to sell, no notoriety, no skills to be a gallery owner," Christophe Duplay recalled.
The gallery subsequently opened at its current premises in September 2016 and has since represented around 60 artists and participated in every edition of Luxembourg Art Week. Orie added that Christophe had initially suggested including Japanese and Chinese artists but she insisted that the gallery remain "100% Korean", explaining that the project was driven by her passion rather than commercial considerations.
The couple then introduced the exhibited works and explained the variety of techniques and materials used by the artists. These ranged from split bamboo brushes and paper from discarded Korean Bibles to polycarbonate, marble, granite, textiles and mosaics.
Information displayed alongside the works, as well as further details provided in booklets distributed at the gallery, offered insight into the artists' backgrounds, inspirations and techniques. The prices of the works ranged from around €1,000 to more than €30,000. While distinctive in their individual approaches, each piece showed its distinctive nature, with many "playing" with bold colours and illusions of multidimensionality.
Speaking with Chronicle.lu, Orie Duplay explained that she visits art fairs and receives recommendations from advisers in Korea, sometimes following an artist's development for two or three years before approaching them. "I started this work just as a patriotism," she said.
Orie Duplay said Artskoco also aims to offer visitors a “more personal” experience than they might expect from a traditional gallery. She described some galleries as "very cold", where visitors may not always feel welcome.
"People leave my gallery saying that they feel like visiting the museum with a guide," she said, adding that such reactions encouraged her to continue. "The thing that I have gained from this job is more than you can imagine," she continued.
She also explained that her efforts to promote Korean culture in Luxembourg began long before the gallery. After arriving in the country around the end of 1999, she established the Friends of Korea cultural association and organised activities including cooking classes, language lessons and traditional dance and music performances.
