South Korea's international art fair will kick off next week in Seoul, with 208 galleries hailing from 18 countries showcasing the works of prominent and new artists up for sale.
The annual Korea International Art Fair 2007 (KIAF), which doubled the size of its venue from last year, will take place from May 9 to 13 at COEX Pacific Hall and Indian Hall in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul.
With more than 5,000 works expected to be on display at the fair, the organizers hope that the art collecting boom, which has been steadily growing on the local market, will help increase the number of visitors to the fair from 50,000 last year to 70,000 this year. The total sales volume is also expected to grow from $10.4 million of last year to $18 million, according to the KIAF organizing committee. The volume marks remarkable growth since some $100,000 worth of art sold at the inaugural fair in 2002.
Art lovers will likely find much to like at the fair and novices can expect to brush up on their knowledge of the contemporary art world. Major local galleries such as Kukje and Gana plan to present the works of Namjune Paik, Gerhard Richter, and Damien Hirst, along with home-turf collectors' darlings such as Bae Bien-U and Lee U-fan.
From overseas, 92 galleries are expected to take part in the fair, with Germany, the guest country of the year in 2005, leading with 28. Japan follows with 21.