Art And Seoul

Delving into the Korean art scene through KIAF and more.

- Nadya Wang

The 15th edition of Korea International Art Fair (KIAF) took place in Seoul from 12 to 16 October 2016. At this edition, the spotlight was shone on the Taiwanese contemporary art scene through 11 participating galleries from the country.

At the same time, there were two related talks: one introducing emerging Taiwanese artists Kuo Chih-Hung, Lin Yu-Ching, and Wei Hsing-Yu, and the other a bicultural discussion about the new generation of Taiwanese artists between Emerson Wang, executive director of Art Taipei 2016 and Kim Sang-Chul, professor of Department of Paintings, College of Art, Dongduk Women’s University. Talks were a significant part of the fair’s programme, which also included a spotlight on the art business, from looking at new trends and developments in Korea and other Asia Pacific art markets to collaborations between artists and businesses in designing products.

Spreading over two halls, the sprawling art fair had a distinctly domestic feel to it. Out of 170 galleries, nearly 120 showcased works from Korea. There were a good number of booths in which information was available exclusively in Korean, which made it difficult to find out more about the artworks if one did not understand the language.

Among the galleries that stood out was Gallery Shilla, which was an enclosed space rather than a conventional open one. The gallery exhibited artworks by Daniel Buren, Alan Charlton, Tadaaki Kuwayama, Kishio Suga, Lee Dong-Yub, Suh Seung-Won, Park Doo-Young, and Nam June Paik. Speaking about the gallery’s focus on Kishio Suga at the fair, director Lee Kwang-Ho says: “Kishio Suga is known for his Mono-ha movement artworks that show the differences between two materials, using raw industrial materials to show new perception and connection to his philosophy.”