IN THE SCENTED FOREST: K BLICK
Works
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Press release
UPSILON GALLERY OPENS 2026 WITH A SOLO EXHIBITION BY K BLICK
The South Korean artist presents In The Scented Forest in Milan,
an exhibition inspired by the legend of the nine-tailed fox.
Milan, January 28, 2026
Following the opening last November—marked by a project by Osvaldo Mariscotti—of its
first Italian and continental European location in Milan, Upsilon Gallery launches its
2026 program with In The Scented Forest, a new solo exhibition by South Korean artist
K Blick.
On view from January 28 to March 31 at the gallery’s space on Via Pisoni 2, the
exhibition draws inspiration from the Korean legend of the nine-tailed fox, or
Gumiho, one of the most fascinating and complex figures in East Asian folklore. A
liminal creature capable of shapeshifting between animal and human form, the Gumiho
embodies an intricate weave of mysticism, desire, danger, and seduction. Its nine tails—
symbols of spiritual power, wisdom, and immortality—refer to the sacred value of the
number nine, understood not merely as completion but as transcendence beyond it. Yet
behind the fox’s mask of danger lies a deeper longing: the desire to become human, to
cross the threshold separating instinct from consciousness, and to find a sense of
belonging. From this yearning emerges its interrupted cry, the expression of an eternal
dissatisfaction intrinsic to its ambivalent nature.
K Blick reinterprets this tension as a universal metaphor for the desire for
metamorphosis and presents 16 works (10 paintings, 1 work on paper, and 5
Portuguese ceramic pieces) in dialogue with the gallery’s spaces, which are transformed
into a symbolic and sensory landscape between myth, nature, and identity. Various
elements—such as a swing, symbolizing freedom and the feminine nature of the fox that
transforms into a woman, accompanied by the animal’s tears spilled onto the ground—
stand alongside the artworks, creating an immersive environment in which the legend’s
narrative is renewed and subverted. What if the fox did not want to become human?
Through painting and ceramic works, the artist constructs a visual universe in which the
human and the natural coexist without hierarchy. The gallery becomes a symbolic forest,
a place where figuration and abstraction, reality and imagination intertwine, giving rise
to an intense and layered narrative. In this space, nature is no longer subordinate to
humanity but emerges as a primary force capable of dissolving social, biological, and
identity-based distinctions.
In contemporary Korean culture, the Gumiho is now a symbol of tragic beauty and
resilience—a being suspended between two worlds that embodies desire, loss, and
transformation. 
In The Scented Forest inhabits this threshold space, poetically and radically exploring
the subtle boundary between humanity and animality, inviting visitors to question what it
means today.
“My nine-tailed fox senses the scent of the sky, listens to the wind, perceives the pulse of
the universe, and feels joy, anger, pain, and pleasure—entirely on its own terms.
Depending on perspective, the life of an animal is profoundly human.”
— K Blick
Marcelo Zimmler is a German-Argentine art dealer, founder and CEO of Upsilon
Gallery, and a leading figure on the international art scene. Born in Buenos Aires, he
moved to New York at the age of 17, where he graduated summa cum laude in
Mathematics and Computer Science from Pace University, with a minor in Economics. He
continued his education between London and New York, studying business and
entrepreneurship at Regent’s College and earning a Master’s degree in Management
from the London School of Economics.
In 2016, he founded Upsilon Gallery in New York as a digital platform specializing in art
prints and multiples. After five years of online activity, the gallery opened its first physical
space in 2022 at 23 East 67th Street, inaugurated with a solo exhibition by Osvaldo
Mariscotti. Since then, the gallery has expanded its exhibition program to include
established yet under-recognized artists, in dialogue with the postwar secondary
market.
In 2024, Upsilon Gallery opened a new location in Mayfair, London, followed in 2025 by
its first European space in Milan.
With a scientific and entrepreneurial background, Zimmler represents an atypical figure
in the gallery world. Self-taught in the field and not from an art family, he built his career
from the ground up, driven by passion, determination, and an international vision. 
K Blick is a South Korean artist working between London and Europe, whose
transnational vision intertwines Eastern and Western sensibilities. Drawing inspiration
from the folklore of various cultures and Greco-Roman mythology, her artistic practice
gives rise to complex, layered visual universes grounded in symbolic narration and deep
cultural hybridity. By reworking and altering canonical narratives, the artist challenges an
anthropocentric view of reality and explores the delicate balance between clarity and
ambiguity, tradition and reinvention.
She studied Graphic and Fashion Design at the Tokyo Mode College of Fashion and
Design in Japan and later earned a Master’s degree in Fine Art from Central Saint
Martins in London. She has participated in artist residencies at Casa Dell’Arte in Bodrum
and at a historic tile factory in Sintra, Portugal.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Florence Biennale, Tate
Modern, and Saatchi Gallery in London.
Blick’s works are included in several prestigious collections, such as the Bulgari Private
Collection and the Caffè Mauro Private Collection in Italy; the Shahmoon Private
Collection in the United Kingdom; the Newm Art Private Collection in France and the
United States; and the Isabella Del Frate Rayburn Private Collection in Switzerland.
Founded in 2016 in New York City by Marcelo Zimmler, Upsilon Gallery presents the
work of artists who have been fundamental in shaping the gallery’s identity and who
serve as inspiration for the wide range of activities it promotes across art, publishing,
research, and technology. Upsilon Gallery specializes in international postwar and
contemporary art and fosters a diversity of perspectives and innovative approaches,
with particular attention to the rediscovery of underexplored artists.
An innovative reality, Upsilon operates as a true multimedia company, embracing new
technologies to offer the highest level of service through both physical and digital
channels, and stands out as a leader in the field of art printing.
With four locations worldwide—an office in Miami, a gallery in Mayfair (London), and two
spaces in New York, including its headquarters at 23 East 67th Street, hosting 6–8
exhibitions per year, and a private, appointment-only space at 146 West 57th Street
dedicated to its print publishing program—Upsilon Gallery is now set to further expand
its international presence with its fifth opening in Milan.
Overview
IN THE SCENTED FOREST, K BLICK

'My Nine-Tailed Fox smells the scent of the sky, hears the wind, feels the pulse of the universe, and experiences joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—all on her own terms.'

- K Blick

In The Scented Forest

K Blick’s solo exhibition, In The Scented Forest, at Upsilon Gallery Milan draws inspiration from the Korean legend of the nine-tailed fox, or Gumiho—one of the most intricate and enduring figures in East Asian folklore. The artist takes this narrative as both a point of departure and a conceptual framework, translating it into a deeply contemporary visual language that intertwines human, social, and natural themes.

The Gumiho embodies a complex weave of mysticism, desire, danger, and allure. Its legend, rooted in the ancient Three Kingdoms Period (7th–1st century BC), tells of a creature able to shift between fox and human form—a liminal being, poised between fascination and unease. The Gumiho’s nine tails symbolise the accumulation of power, wisdom, and spiritual force. In East Asian traditions, the number nine is considered sacred, representing not simple completion but the state beyond it, the highest point of attainment; accordingly, the fox’s tails become an emblem of immortality. Another key symbol is the “fox bead,” a glowing orb said to contain her life force and magical power, sometimes imagined as a vessel for absorbing or exchanging human energy. Behind the mask of danger of the fox, however, lies a profound yearning: the desire to become human, to cross the threshold that separates instinct from consciousness, and to find belonging. From this longing arises her broken cry, an expression of eternal restlessness, intrinsic to her ambivalent nature, at once animal and insatiably human.

K Blick reinterprets this tension as a universal metaphor for transformation. Through paintings and ceramics, she constructs a visual universe in which the human, the animal, and the natural coexist in fragile harmony. The gallery becomes a symbolic landscape—an immersive realm where the story is both renewed and inverted: What if the fox never wished to become human? What if her truth lay precisely in her wild, primal nature?

From this question unfolds a broader reflection on the relationship between humanity and nature. In a world dominated by human order, K Blick imagines an alternative balance—one in which nature prevails and all hierarchies, social, gendered, and biological, dissolve. Her paintings and ceramics move between figuration and abstraction, between reality and imagination, giving form to a narrative, compelling language that pulses with emotional intensity. The tears of the nine-tailed fox seem to envelop the gallery walls, filling the voids of contemporary existence—the very spaces that, now more than ever, define the human condition.

In contemporary Korean culture, the Gumiho has evolved beyond its traditional association with danger to become a symbol of tragic beauty and endurance—an eternal being suspended between two worlds. Its story speaks of transformation, desire, and loss, but also of the fragile boundary that unites and separates humanity and animality: a threshold that K Blick traverses with poetic and radical sensitivity.

 
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