Oldest art fair gets younger and bigger

Korea Galleries Art Fair offers over 3,000 artworks in celebration of 30th anniversary


Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the nation’s oldest art fair is underway at COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, in its largest fair to date.

The Korea Galleries Art Fair features over 3,000 works from about 90 member galleries. Established in 1979, the art fair has showcased a wide range of artwork, from emerging local rookies to internationally acclaimed artists. 

Almost of all of the established galleries in Korea are participating in the four-day art fair, including Gana Art Gallery, Kukje Gallery, Hakgojae Gallery, Gallery Hyundai, The Columns Gallery, Geumsan Gallery, Gallery Sejul and Gallery Yeh.

In the past, galleries took the opportunity to introduce as many of their artists as possible, but this year the trend is to focus on one or two. And the artists selected tend to be young, fresh and up-and-coming.

“We are hoping to make the Korea Galleries Art Fair a gateway deeper into the art market for young artists. Visitors will be able to see more works by fresh artists, compared to last year,” said Pyo Mi-sun, chairwoman of the Galleries Association of Korea, at a press conference held on Monday.

Kukje Gallery, for example, turned its booth into a two-person exhibition for relatively young artists Kang Eemyun and Sen Chung. Gallery Yeh is also displaying works by young artists such as Koo Seong-yeon, who puts together familiar objects into unfamiliar assemblages, as well as those by veterans such as Kwon Ok-yeon, who has been leading the second generation of Korean modern artists, and Kim Chong-hak, who is known for his flower and landscape paintings.

The art fair will run through Feb. 26 at COEX’s Hall D in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. Tickets range from 8,000 won to 10,000 won. For more information, call (02) 733-3706 or visit www.seoulartfair.net.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldcorp.com)