Yun Gee Park and Scott Duerstock founded Yun Gee Park Gallery & Atelier in 2015 after decades of foreign/domestic travel and personal collecting, through which they established relationships with leading gallerists and artists from around the globe. Their focus has been, and remains, on presenting contemporary arts, specifically art jewelry, Asian ceramics, and fine art, to an international clientele of individual and corporate collectors, galleries, and museums.

Ms. Park and Mr. Duerstock believe deeply in the importance of curating all aspects of one’s life. This includes not only the personally relevant curation of space and environment, but also the curation of one’s body and actions.

They perceive the body as a distinctly unique gallery that offers a splendid opportunity to cultivate one’s personal aesthetics and philosophy and express them to those in the world around us. They also view the action of partaking in each meal or drink as a means in which to fully experience a moment to the fullest. As with the Asian tea ceremony, they believe that the dishes, vessels, and utensils that one chooses, can elevate an everyday essential activity to the level of art, and, as with pieces of personal adornment or enhancements of environment, create a meaningful human-to-human connection between the user and artist.

True to this philosophy, they have created an enchanting space in Tucson, Arizona, a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, that is a fusion of art, touch, taste, scent, and sound. The result is a gallery and gardens complex that many describe as a “hidden gem.” Never comfortable with static design, however, Ms. Park and Mr. Duerstock constantly reimagine the gallery and gardens to align and expand upon the aesthetics and philosophies of the artists and the collection. The gallery is treated as a 3-dimensional design “magazine,” the purpose of which is to scintillate the senses, in diametrical opposition to the overly pervasive digital-based experiences that tend to dominate our current age.

The collection on offer at the gallery is eclectic and contemporary, while exhibiting a curatorial cohesion that is bold, provocative, and unconventional, yet elegantly executed with strong links to artistic tradition and traditional techniques. Artists who are invited to present their works at the gallery are chosen based on their aesthetically successful combination of concepts and selection of media, that is, there is no other set of materials that the artist could choose that would more satisfactorily convey the artist’s intent.

Yun Gee Park

Korean-born artist, Yun Gee Park was trained primarily as a painter, but she is presently most active in exhibition curation, jewelry design, and art installation consulting. She is particularly noted for her skills in curation and exhibit display, creating installations that draw on elements of Asian and Western aesthetics while considering the artistic visions and philosophies of the gallery’s artists and collection and integrating thematic elements.

Ms. Park has degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design and Purdue University, and has studied, exhibited, lived, and traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.

Scott Duerstock

Managing director, Scott Duerstock, started his career in the fine arts and interior design industry in Chicago on Michigan Avenue, Oak Street, and the Merchandise Mart. He is an accomplished designer, artist, and renovator, who completed graduate studies in cultural anthropology, and served for many years in educational administration and leadership. Mr. Duerstock is a Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Pearls Graduate and Cultured Pearl Association of America (CPAA) Pearls Specialist.