KIAF,국제아트페어- 화요일까지!

Scaled-down art fair kicks off at COEX

 

Visitors browse the booths at the Korea International Art Fair held last year. [KIAF]

The Korea International Art Fair, one of the biggest art fairs in Korea, begins its five-day run today at COEX in southern Seoul.

Started in 2002, the annual fair has grown to become one of Asia's symbolic art fairs. It has marked particularly great success the last two years, with diverse lineups and high sales.

Compared to those times, the size is much smaller this year. The number of participating galleries dropped from last year's 218 and 2007's 208 to 168.

"The art market was also influenced by the global economic crisis. But we found out an interesting fact while preparing this fair - although companies became passive in art investments, individual buyers are continuously increasing. We are counting on them," Pyo Mi-sun, chair woman of Galleries Association of Korea - which co-hosts KIAF with COEX - told the press last week.

The organizers have high hopes for this year's KIAF.

They expect sales will reach $16 million, which is only $1 million less than that of 2007, when the art market was most prosperous. The average sales of the last seven years were slightly more than $7.1 million.

They also expect approximately 65,000 visitors to attend the fair this year, which is the same number of people that visited in 2007.

Aside the numbers, though, it is a rare chance to see so much work by so many artists in a single venue. So brace yourselves for a full array of paintings, sculptures, photos, videos and some aching legs.

The 168 participating galleries come from 16 different countries, including Korea and India, this year's guest country. In total, about 1,200 artists showcase more than 4,600 works.

Indian works are featured through a special exhibition titled "Failed Plot."

The curator is Gayatri Sinha, a renowned art critic and curator in India, and the show will introduce works by 15 Indian artists.

Another special exhibition, named "Modern Boy, Modern Girl," displays Korean contemporary art in three divisions. Works from 1920s and 1930s can be found at the first section, those from 1940s to mid-1950s in the second, and works dating from mid-1950s till now at the final section.

Regular booths are also worth paying a visit. Most of Korea's popular galleries participate at the fair, including Gallery Hyundai, Kukje Gallery, Park Ryu Sook Gallery, Seomi and Tuus and Hakgojae Gallery.

Foreign Galleries include TS1 Gallery Beijing from China, Walter Bischoff Galerie from Germany and Tomio Koyama Gallery from Japan.

Notably, Australian art is officially showcased in Korea for the first time through KIAF by the country's Commercial Galleries Association. Unfamiliar works by 22 Australian artists can be found at four different booths.

The 8th KIAF runs through Sept. 22 at Hall C and D on the third floor of COEX in Samsung-dong, southern Seoul.

Guided tours are available in Korean and English. Tickets cost 15,000 won for general visitors and 10,000 won for students (college students included). Admission is free for those under 7 or those over 65.

For more information, go to www.kiaf.org or call (02) 766-3702~4.

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young