Coming to Kiaf

This week the Korean International Art Fair (Kiaf SEOUL) returns to COEX alongside Frieze Seoul, located in the heart of Seoul’s Gangnam district, for its 2024 edition. From September 5 through 8, the 23rd iteration of South Korea’s oldest art fair, produced by the Galleries Association of Korea, welcomes 34 new galleries from Tehran, New York, Rome, Tokyo, and Sydney to participate for the first time in addition to over 130 galleries from South Korea. In total 206 galleries from 21 countries and territories are slated to exhibit at Kiaf SEOUL. 

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Among the 34 first-time exhibitors are 193 Gallery (Paris), Albarran Bourdais (Madrid), Bavan Gallery (Tehran), Crossing Art (New York), dR (Seoul), EGG Gallery (Beijing), Ethan Cohen Gallery (New York), gallerykabinett (Seoul), Lechbinska Gallery (Zurich), Olympia (New York), PIERMARQ* (Sydney), SNOW Contemporary (Tokyo), and WOAW Gallery (Hong Kong). Returning galleries from South Korea include Arario Gallery (Seoul, Cheonan), BHAK (Seoul), Gana Art (Seoul, Busan), Gallery Hyundai (Seoul), Hakgojae Gallery (Seoul), Johyun Gallery (Busan), Keumsan Gallery (Seoul), Kukje Gallery (Seoul, Busan), Leeahn Gallery (Seoul, Daegu), PKM Gallery (Seoul), PYO Gallery (Seoul), and Wooson Gallery (Daegu). Some of the international galleries are Art Front Gallery (Tokyo), Carl Kostyál (London), Carvalho Park (New York),Cassina Projects (Milan), DIE GALERIE (Frankfurt), Jan Murphy Gallery (Brisbane), Lucie Chang Fine Arts (Hong Kong), Galerie Marguo (Paris), Peres Projects (Berlin, Milan, Seoul), Sundaram Tagore Gallery (New York), Tang Contemporary Art (Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul), Whitestone Gallery (Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo), and Yumiko Chiba Associates (Tokyo).

Notably, Peres Projects will present a number of painters from its roster, some for the first time, including the Copenhagen-born, Spanish artist Anton Munar’s haunting paintings, which will also be exhibited at the gallery’s Seoul space, local artist Keunmin Lee’s dark portrayals of raw flesh on plates, echoing a tormented psyche, and Italian painter Daniele Toneatti’s canvases that capture life’s tender moments.

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Elsewhere, Carl Kostyál used William Butler Yeats’s 1890s poem The Sorrow of Love as the starting point for its booth, drawing on the narrative that ill-fated romance can evolve into a form of creative liberation when assembling artists Szabolcs Bozó, Camilla Engström, Heesoo Kim, Hiroya Kurata, Austin Lee, Karyn Lyons, Tony Toscani, Felix Treadwell, and Su Su for the group exhibition. Each artist channeled their emotions into their work, like Engström, who painted serene, yet somber landscapes.

One of Seoul’s most prominent galleries, Kukje will show octogenarian sculptor Kim Yun Shin, who is also exhibiting at the Biennale Arte in Venice. The artist, who spent decades in Argentina and now lives between there and South Korea, will debut cast metal sculptures that emerged from her 2000 series “Painting Sculptures,” in which she painted the surfaces of her wood forms. Titled “The Tree Full of Songs,” this series is from versions of these sculptures cast in bronze or aluminum, then coated with various shades of acrylic paint to emulate singing.  

Seoul-based Kim Jiwon will have a solo booth with Seoul-based PKM Gallery, showing over 20 new works, with some being from his renowned “Mendrami” series, a meditative study of the lifecycle of the cockscomb flowers that stem from seeds planted in his studio garden, capturing the flower as it blooms until it withers and crumbles back into the earth. The artist will also exhibit other paintings that are situated between figuration and abstraction, fusing together organic forms and deliberate brush strokes.

Antwerp-based Newchild Gallery, another notable space, will present a booth of new works by artists to watch, like Madeleine Bialke, who will present her vivid landscapes; Chris Oh’s reinterpretations of Renaissance paintings, Ella McVeigh’s dreamy watercolor abstractions, and Kristian Touborg’s reflective paintings, along with works by James Owens and Viktor Mattsson. 

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In addition to the gallery stands, the fair will showcase the work of the 10 semi-finalists of the Kiaf Highlights Award, selected by a committee of art experts. The three finalists will be revealed on the fair’s preview day.

This year’s special exhibition, “Kiaf onSITE, Changes in Technology,” will examine the complex relationship between humans and technology. Curated by multimedia specialist and curator Seungah Lee, director of Urban Art Lab Seoul, the show will display works by Min-ha Yang, who uses A.I. systems, while Wonjung Choi will look at her own migration patterns.

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Additionally, this year’s talks program features Anthony Allen (Partner, Paula Cooper Gallery), Diana Campbell Betancourt (Artistic Director, Samdani Art Foundation and Chief Curator, Dhaka Art Summit), Rajeeb Samdani (Founder, Samdani Art Foundation), Lin Han (Founder, M WOODS Museum), Vera Mey (Co-artistic Director, Busan Biennale 2024), Victoria Sung (Curator, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive), and art critic Andrew Russeth, touching on themes like feminism in Asian art and the influence fairs have on the broader market. 

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Kiaf SEOUL runs September 5 through 8, 2024 at COEX at COEX 1F, Hall A&B Grand Ballroom, 513. Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul Korea.

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