Seoul center stage

Earlier this month, Seoul became the world capital of art for a week with the conjunction of Seoul Art Week, KIAF + Frieze Seoul, Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, Seoul Fashion Week, Crypto Art Seoul / Korea Blockchain Week, and a myriad of events, shows, and gallery openings.

(If you wonder what Mitch McConnell was doing on my Instagram timeline during Frieze Seoul 2023, I found this very realistic statue of him on sale at a discount price at Freeze D.C. 2023) Hopping from Hyoja-dong (Arumjigi) to Samseong-dong (Frieze-KIAF @ COEX) via Huam-dong (M+ and Doryun CHONG's homecoming, Whitestone's opening), Sinsa-dong (White Cube and LEE Jinju), Euljiro (Dan Archer and LG OLED at the DDP, Seongsu-dong (Beeple at The Gateway in S Factory), Songhyeon-dong (Kimchi and Chips' RE:WORLD), Taepyeongno (SBAU in Seoul HOUR)...

A lot of hype of course (boy did that crypto party remind me of internet extravaganza circa 2000), but also genuine gems and emotions. Good to see KIAF alive and kicking, many galleries coming from new horizons (even Accra), Doryun CHONG's emotional return to Seoul, or of course the themes of the (already!) fourth Seoul Biennale (waterways and mountains*, 2123 Seoul).

The return of visitors from China fueled the coopetition between Seoul and Hong Kong, and September here can counterbalance March madness there beyond the Frieze-Art Basel war. Interesting to see how Art Busan, now backed by web3 players, will fare / fair in early November with DEFINE (for DEsign and FINE arts in Seongsu-dong).

Seoul Village 2023
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* ICYMI: "Seoul waterways and urbanism - the full story"

KIAF, Busan Biennale, and Gwangju Biennale

Every other year, contemporary art hunters hop across Korea. Among other stops, a trio of now established events :


KIAF 2010 : after really claiming international recognition in 2008, the Korea International Art Fair pushes harder into the global stage. Names ? I could mention Damien HIRST because Britannia is ruling this year and this show has a lot to do with hype and money, but since art is involved, I picked this "Untitled" by Jean-Michel BASQUIAT.
- what : 5,000 works exhibited, 1,500 artists, 193 galleries from 16 countries (guest country UK with 15 galleries, Japan 16, Germany 13...), special exhibition "Creative Present: Korea Media Art"...
- when : 2010/09/09-13 (vernissage Sept 8th)
- where : 1F Hall A&B, COEX, Seoul
- more : kiaf.org


2010 Busan Biennale : more compact than the previous edition, this biennale isn't as much a pan-Asian mecca as the PIFF for the movie industry.
- what : theme "Living in Evolution", Special Exhibition "Now, Asian Art". Artistic director Azumaya Takashi. 75 artists, 135 works.
- when : 2010/09/11-11/20
- where : Busan Museum of Art, Busan Yacht Center, Gwangalli Beach, Busan Cultural Center, Busan City Hall... (main exhibition and side events)
- more : busanbiennale.org



8th Gwangju Biennale : A mix of new commissions and older works is supposed to give a temporary museum touch to this emotional edition themed after Ko Un's poem "Maninbo" ("10,000 Lives"), itself a tribute to the 1980 Gwangju uprising. 30 years after the massacre, visitors will meet completely different faces in a completely different environment.
- what : theme "10,000 Lives", 134 works stretching over the last century. Curated by young artistic director Massimiliano Gioni.
- when : 2010/09/03-11/07
- where : Gwangju Biennale Hall, Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju Folk Museum
- more : gb.or.kr


Seoul Village 2010

ASYAAF 2009

The Chosun Ilbo and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 2009 Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival at the old Defense Security Command building on Samcheong-dong-gil, in front of the Gyeongbokgung's Folk Village.

The building itself is plays a major part in the success of the operation : tiny bare rooms, dark corridors, post-apocalyptic staircases... you feel like you're going from one vault to another, trapped in some kind of a prison where contemporary art ghosts walks free. Along with an army of friendly and helpful green humanoids called SAM (Student Art Managers).

The 2008 edition at Seoul Station was titled "When we first met" and these days, "We Meet The Future". In very deed, you will meet with 777 young talents from Korea, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. Of course, many works still look amateurish... but this definitely beats most galleries from the neighborhood, and more than a few would fare pretty well at the KIAF (coming up this september at the COEX).

I won't tell names of artists I liked because - full disclosure here - I laid a few red dots during my visit. Works are for sale, and at a reasonable price. So you can support young artists not only by admiring their productions in this unique context.


ASYAAF 20092009.07.29 - 08.23
Defense Security Command, Old Building
165 Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.724.5337
asyaaf.chosun.com

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ADDENDUM 20090812

I just came back from the exhibition. I didn't want to miss the second installation : a second set of Korean artists (and some foreigners) is exposed, and it was worth the visit (more emotions... and more red dots - I'm looking forward to meeting with the creators).

Gustav Klimt at Seoul Arts Center - Pompidou at SeMA

Ten years ago, "major" exhibitions in Seoul featuring big names from the past would propose a couple of works by the Great Master submerged by flocks of side dishes from relatively unknown and distant relatives.

Nowadays, Seoulites can enjoy simultaneously major collections with consistant editorial lines from the Pompidou Center at the SeMA and from Gustav Klimt at the Seoul Arts Center*. They can and they do : in spite of their relatively high entrance fees the shows are drawing masses of visitors not necessarily used to this kind of entertainment.

Seoul has definitely become an international art hub well beyond its national treasures and its traditional position on the contemporary art scene, leveraging on new landmarks (National Museum, Leeum**...), but also on stronger ties with fellow Asian countries (ie always something stimulating to discover at the National Museum in Yongsan), as well as with new European partners (ie for the Monet exhibition a couple of years ago, Pompidou and Vienna today).

I bump into Klimt every now and then, and each time from a closer range. Now we've met in my three favorite cities : in NYC a quarter of a century ago ("Vienna 1900: Art, Architecture & Design" - MOMA 1986), Vienna was the star, in Paris more recently ("Vienne 1900" - Grand Palais 2005), the focus was on four artists (Klimt, Schiele, Moser, and Kokoschka), but today in Seoul, Gustav rules the show.

"Gustav Klimt in Korea 2009" justifies its name : the artist is there, drawing a stimulating map of his own life and mind, displaying a collection of beautiful portraits, meeting a new public hungry for change in another young century.

I still prefer Egon Schiele, and still wonder how far he would have gone if the Spanish Flu didn't claim him that early... But that's another story.

Seoul, as a young and promising art center, is also threatened by a global menace, and already feeling the pinch of the crisis (galleries are struggling, auctions slumping, and I'm not sure the next KIAF will be as great as the 2008 edition). But it shall overcome, because this city has embraced art for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer.

I haven't made up mind mind on the "better or worse" dimension of Rem Koolhaas' shapeshifting of an installation under construction on the Gyeonghuigung's lawn. It keeps evolving each time I look through my windows. First came the massive blocks, then those giant pivoting steel PlayStation buttons, and now this screen covering the exhibition space until its inauguration (April 25th)... But as far as the "richer or poorer" dimension is concerned, the name could be a clue : when a "Prada Transformer" is coming to town, you know the era of art hype is not totally over.


* hurry up for Pompom :
. "Centre Georges Pompidou Exhibition "Heaven for Artists""(Seoul Museum of Art - 20081222 - 20090322)
. "Gustav Klimt in Korea 2009" - SAC / Hangaram Art Museum (20090202-0515)
** see my blogule (French version) : "Leeum ad vitam aeternam"

KIAF 2008

After China (2002), Japan (2003), Korea (2004), Germany (2005), France (2006), and Spain (2007), the Korea International Art Fair welcomes Switzerland as its star country : 19 galleries, a Swiss Modern Art Exhibition, and a "What You Get Is What You Want" special exhibition for emerging Swiss talents (none of the 9 young artists selected for KIAF Finds Hidden Treasure comes from the guest country).

But KIAF 2009 goes beyond the partnership between the Gallery Association of Korea and Art Galleries Switzerland (AGS) : 20 countries are represented, and 102 of the 218 galleries are foreign. Korea boasts 116 galleries, Europe 65 (Germany 27), Asia 29 (16 from Japan), Americas 7 (USA 5), and Australia 1. Overall, about 1,500 artists and 6,000 works exhibited.

OK. Enough figures. Except maybe the entrance fee : KRW 15,000. Expensive, but the show is worth it.

I was positively impressed by the quality of the selection, much more exciting than what you could find in - say - a FIAC a couple of years ago. Of course, Chinese artists remain quite popular, and Japanese pop art as well (ie Yoshitomo Nara), but there was a definitely European / auteur flavor, and not just because of the guest country. And a refreshing variety.

Pros seemed to be touching wood : in spite of the economic downturn, the contemporary art bubble remains, and this show appears to be a success so let's enjoy it, you never know how things will fare next year...

Korea enjoys a powerful contemporary art ecosystem along the whole chain from creative design schools to wealthy art lovers, galleries hubs across the capital city, Gyeonggi-do and many other regions, regional exhibitions and fairs with an international reach, new landmarks (ie Leeum)... and as the Korean won takes the plunge, foreign buyers can shop at bargain prices.

But offer is exceeding demand, and quantity often comes before quality, the shell before the pearl. Like in Paju : I remember visiting Heyri Art Village in its maiden year, and it looked more like an architectural contest for hipsters than a genuine artistic proposition. Still, Korea has a knack for forcing success in this field.

Like everywhere else, many galleries will fold, though. Or devote more space to their cafes and boutiques to make ends meet. Young talents will face tougher times to reach their publics, but there's still the ASYAAF...

KIAF plays an important role to position the country globally, and this edition surely confirms Korea as a major player. KIAF 2009 will be an interesting test. Unless another art bubble inflates by then, matching 2008 will be difficult. And each exhibitor will be tempted to take little risk. But some may remember that uncertain times tend to spur creativity and the hunger for it.

Seoul Village 2008


KIAF 2008 / Korea International Art Fair
Guest Country-Switzerland
September 19-23, 2008
Pacific Hall and Indian Hall, COEX, World Trade Center
Samsung-dong, Seoul, ROK 135-731

Visitors can also enjoy synergies with Busan Biennale (until november).