A view of Frieze Seoul 2023 at COEX in southern Seoul / Courtesy of Lets Studio and Frieze
Seoul’s art scene to liven up in time for two mega-fairs’ return in September
By Park Han-sol
Korea will once again host a double dose of art fair excitement this September, anchored by the return of two mega-events: Frieze Seoul and Kiaf Seoul.
More than 310 established and emerging galleries from around the world will converge at COEX in southern Seoul for the simultaneous openings on Sept. 4. Frieze Seoul will run for four days, while Kiaf Seoul is slated to extend until Sept. 8, one more day than its counterpart.
A joint ticket, available from June 17, grants access to both fairs; prices are set at 250,000 won ($183) for a preview pass and 80,000 won ($58) for general admission.
The third iteration of Frieze Seoul brings together just over 110 dealers from 30 countries, featuring a stronger core of Asia-based exhibitors across different sectors — Galleries, Frieze Masters and Focus Asia — alongside global blue-chip stalwarts like Galleria Continua, Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Lisson Gallery and Pace Gallery.
“The fair continues to serve as an important regional hub,” noted its director Patrick Lee.
This year’s Frieze Masters section, dedicated to art from antiquities and centuries-old manuscripts to late 20th-century masterpieces, will see a much-increased presence of galleries highlighting the wider Asian region’s artistic strength.
Among its first-time participants are Taipei-based Asia Art Center, Indian dealer DAG, Tokyo-headquartered Mizoe Art Gallery and Hong Kong-based Galerie du Monde.
The Focus Asia sector, a unique feature of the Seoul fair, returns to illuminate 10 solo artist presentations from young regional galleries. These include Seoul-based CYLINDER showcasing Lee Jong-hwan, G Gallery with Hwang Sue-yon and New Delhi-headquartered Blueprint 12 with Kingsley Gunatillake.
The 2024 event will also debut a Frieze Live section to spotlight performance-based art — a medium often overlooked in art fair circuits due to its ephemerality and low saleability.
Additionally, the second edition of the Frieze Seoul Artist Award will once again enable an emerging talent to execute a new commission during the fair. Its winner is set to be announced on June 24.
A view of Kiaf Seoul 2023 at COEX / Courtesy of Kiaf Seoul
Meanwhile, Kiaf Seoul, the longest-running homegrown contemporary art fair, will be joined by 207 exhibitors from 21 countries for its upcoming edition.
In line with its continued emphasis on introducing forward-looking Korean art and emerging talents to a global audience, over 130 galleries hail from the local art scene.
This year, the event will span two floors of COEX and feature new booth layouts, designed in collaboration with young architect Jang Yoo-jin, to streamline the viewing experience, according to Hwang Dal-seung, president of the Galleries Association of Korea, Kiaf Seoul’s host.
The accompanying special exhibition, “Kiaf onSITE,” curated by Urban Art Lab in Seoul Director Lee Seung-ah, is set to explore alternative narratives through the use of artificial intelligence, wearable technology and virtual reality.
A suite of museums and cultural institutions are aligning their major programming to coincide with the two fairs’ arrival, staging a coordinated art week across the city.
Highlights include “Talking Bodies: Asian Women Artists” at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul, and a survey of the Pinault Collection, amassed by the French billionaire, at SongEun.
Running concurrently with these group exhibitions are solo shows spotlighting major names in the contemporary art scene — Do Ho Suh at Art Sonje Center, Anicka Yi at the Leeum Museum of Art and Nicolas Party at the Hoam Museum of Art.
The openings of Korea’s two leading biennials — Gwangju Biennale and Busan Biennale — will also be an important leg of the nationwide art festivity.