By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Art lovers and collectors will have a chance to satisfy their appetite for Korean contemporary art at the 7th annual Korea International Art Fair (KIAF 2008).
Since it started in 2002, KIAF has grown in size and reputation. This year promises to be the biggest ever, with 218 galleries from 20 countries, including 116 from Korea, 27 from Germany and 16 from Japan.
KIAF 2008 opens Sept. 19 and runs through 23 at the Pacific and Indian Hall, COEX, southern Seoul. Organized by the Gallery Association of Korea, the KIAF will showcase 6,000 art works by 1,500 local and foreign artists. The event is not just an art market for collectors, but is also envisioned as a festival for art aficionados to share ideas.
Switzerland is appointed guest country for KIAF 2008, so there are 19 prominent Swiss galleries at the event. Giovanni Carmine curated the Swiss Young Artist Show, ``What You Get is What You Want,'' featuring three artists Marc Bauer, Peter Regli and Erik Steinbrecher. For the show, Carmine selected works that can be seen as intentional cliches for the Swiss identity, such as sausages, cuckoo clocks and the Matterhorn.
``A Moonlit Garden,'' curated by art magazine editor Lee Ken-shu, is a special exhibition featuring 10 Korean mid-career artists who have worked here and abroad, and have helped shape the identity of Korean contemporary art. Artists included in this section are Min Byung-hun, Rhee Ki-bong, Lee Sang-nam, Koo Bohn-chang, Oh Su-fan and Kwon Dae-sup.
KIAF is giving nine young artists from Korea, Germany, Iran and Thailand a chance to introduce their artworks at the art fair, through the Young Artist Portfolio Presentation Sept. 20 and 21.
Park Geon-hee, Korea's most representative performance artist, will give performances at 3 p.m. Sept 20 and 12 p.m. Sept. 21.
Obscure art-related films will be shown at the exhibition as part of Cinema in KIAF. Among the films to be shown are Huh In's ``Poisson d'Avril,'' John Moon's ``Apple'' and ``Wolf Daddy'' by Chang Hyang-yun.
KIAF also hopes to draw relevant discussions about current issues through lectures organized by the Korean Art Critics Association. A forum on how public and private Swiss institutions support art will be held at 4 p.m., Sept. 20. Top figures in the Swiss art scene will be participating in the forum.
Seo Seong-rok, chairman of the Korean Art Critics Association, will talk about Korean contemporary art at 5 p.m., Sept. 19, while Busan Biennale director Kim Won-bang will give an introduction to the biennale at 3 p.m. Sept. 21.
Jonathan Stone, director for international business at Christie's Asian Art Department, will give a lecture on trends and investment in contemporary Asian art at 2 p.m. Sept. 23.
Organizers expect 75,000 visitors, up from last year's 64,000 visitors. For a full schedule of events and academic lectures, visit www.kiaf.org (English and Korean). Tickets are 15,000 won for adults, 10,000 won for students and free for those under 7 and over 65.