Focus Asia at Frieze Seoul 2023: Showcasing Young Galleries

Frieze Seoul, an international art fair by the creators of the world-renowned Frieze magazine, and also Frieze London, Frieze Masters, Frieze New York, and Frieze Los Angeles, is set for its second edition from September 6-9, 2023, at COEX in Seoul’s Gangnam district.

The long awaited fair promises a global art experience and a week of exciting events during Frieze Week, co-hosted with the Galleries Association of Korea, celebrating Seoul’s vibrant creative community and running concurrently with Kiaf SEOUL, South Korea’s top art fair. The event will showcase over 120 influential art galleries, focusing primarily on contemporary art.

Frieze Week in 2023 will offer activations, partner projects, and special events throughout Seoul, including late-night gallery openings in three key districts: Hannam Night (September 5), Cheongdam Night (September 6), and Samcheong Night (September 7). Galleries and institutions participating in Hannam Night include Gallery Baton, CYLINDER, Esther Schipper, Leeum Museum of Art, Lehmann Maupin, P21, Pace, Thaddaeus Ropac, Sprüth Magers, VSF, and Whistle. Cheongdam Night will showcase spaces like Atelier Hermès, G Gallery, Gladstone, ONE AND J., Perrotin, SONGEUN, and White Cube. Samcheong Night will include A-Lounge, ARARIO GALLERY, Art Sonje Center, Hakgojae, Gallery Hyundai, Tina Kim Gallery, Kukje, and PKM.

Frieze Seoul’s second edition returns with the popular Focus Asia section, curated by Hyejung Jang, Chief Curator at DOOSAN Gallery, and Joselina Cruz, Director and Curator at MCAD, Manila. Ten galleries will present solo exhibitions by notable artists from Asia and beyond. This year emphasises installations to create a cohesive exhibition experience, with the aim of enabling visitors to discover promising talents while appreciating the collective energy.

G Gallery will present works by Woo Hannah. Through the use of fabric, she creates a world where trust, cooperation, and friendship flourish. Her work is based on a myth of her own making, which delves deeply into the relationship between a woman and colossal energy.

Seoul’s Cylinder Gallery debuts at Frieze Seoul with Sinae Yoo’s “Post Truth” series, which explores the complexities of truth and falsehood, challenging our perception of reality and subjectivity. The centerpiece is an altarpiece reminiscent of an old master painting, but it features a post-apocalyptic scene with futuristic cyborg-like angelic beings. Cylinder’s founder, Ro Dooyong, highlights Yoo’s reinterpretation, which captures both secular and sacred elements of our hyper-digitalized society within a classic religious art frame.

White Noise, another local gallery making its debut at the fair, showcases Korean artist Rondi Park, hailed by The New York Times as “astonishingly talented.” Her vibrant, almost cartoon-like pieces offer witty, sarcastic, yet romantic reflections on capitalism’s impact on daily life. Seoul-based artist Soojung Jung will showcase his artistic mystery world at the A-Lounge gallery. In his work, the artist creates a universe, using stories freed from conventional logic as the starting point for his works.

Artists showcased at Frieze Seoul 2023’s Focus Asia platform tackle contemporary and universal themes. Curator Jang suggests that instead of categorising them as a representation of Asian culture in a broad sense, it’s more fitting to view them as a shared thematic consciousness among participating galleries and artists. These themes are uniquely interpreted through the lens of local culture and individual artistic expression.