Two international art fairs, Frieze Seoul and Kiaf, kicked off in South Korea with much buzz and excitement on Sept. 4. but the fairs were not immune to South Korea’s economic slowdown and a weaker global art market.
The exhibition halls of COEX, in Gangnam District, Seoul, where the art fairs were held, bustled with art enthusiasts, collectors, and investors all day on Thursday and Friday. Visitors waited in line from 10:30 a.m. every morning to attend the art fairs, which opened at 11 a.m.
“I came to see all the artwork,” a Korean woman in her 50s told the Chosun Daily on Sept. 5. The artworks at Frieze Seoul are too expensive to buy, but I just enjoy coming across beautiful pieces at art fairs.” A mother and daughter duo also leisurely walked arm in arm while perusing the fair. Visitors filled the seats at the pop-up store by French champagne house Ruinart for a drink and posed for photos at the Jo Malone lounge, installed in collaboration with Korean artist Lee Gwang-ho.
Frieze Seoul hosted 116 galleries this year, including Gagosian, Lisson Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner, Lehmann Maupin, Massimodecarlo, Thaddaeus Ropac, Perrotin, White Cube, Gallery Hyundai and Kukje Gallery. “This year, 64% of the galleries are based in Asia, and 23 new galleries are participating,” said Frieze Seoul’s director Patrick Lee.
In the first two editions, the fair showcased artworks by famous artists such as Picasso, Egon Schiele, Marc Chagall, and Henri Matisse, but such large-scale masterpieces worth millions of dollars were absent this year. What Frieze’s third iteration lacked in once-in-a-lifetime blockbuster pieces, it made up for in variety and affordability. Various contemporary artworks - paintings, sculptures, installations, and videos - received plenty of attention. Many of these artworks were priced under 1 billion won ($750,000).
Highlights of the fair included Takashi Murakami’s rainbow flower painting from the Perrotin gallery booth, Yayoi Kusama’s large-scale pumpkin sculpture from the David Zwirner booth, and Nam June Paik’s video art Sfera/Punto Elettronico. Visitors stopped in their tracks in front of these artworks to take pictures.
A media art exhibition of the late Korean artist Suh Se-ok’s sumuk (ink) paintings reinterpreted on screen also caught the attention of visitors. The exhibition was created by Suh’s two sons, artist Do Ho Suh and architect Eulho Suh, and sponsored by LG Electronics.
After the hectic frenzy of the first year and the following dynamism of the second year, the atmosphere at Frieze Seoul this year was decidedly calmer and more collected. While total sales have yet to be added up, sales on the opening day, Frieze’s VIP preview, were moderate, not as strong as the first two years, according to several galleries.
The mood at Kiaf, short for Korea International Art Fair, was similar—brimming with energy from art enthusiasts but relatively more composed compared to the past two years. This year, Kiaf featured 206 galleries from 22 countries, including 132 from Korea. First-timers at Kiaf included 193 Gallery, Crossing Art, Ethan Cohen Gallery, Lechbinska Gallery, and PIERMARQ*.
Galleries attributed the slow start in sales to the recent global art market downturn. Sales in the global art market fell by 4% last year to an estimated $65 billion amid inflation, rising interest rates, and sluggish economic growth. Sotheby’s and Christie’s reported disappointing financial earnings in the first half of this year as auction sales declined.
“We’ve participated in Kiaf for the past three years, and the mood this year is the calmest overall,” said a gallerist from a gallery in Germany on Sept. 6. “The first year Kiaf partnered with Frieze was the most hectic, the second year had a diverse range of artworks, and this year the mood of the fair seems to reflect the current state of the art market,” she added.
Kiaf, Frieze Seoul, and the Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS) also hosted a talk series that covered issues such as women’s art and the shifting landscape of art fairs. Curators, collectors, and artists who participated in the talks expressed optimism for the future of artists and art fairs despite the recent art market slowdown.
“It’s a great time to be a curator because there’s so much more diversity being represented in the world of art, which means there’s so much more art to uncover on a global scale,” said Clara Kim, chief curator and director of curatorial affairs at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
