Galleries Art Fair marks 50 years with record exhibitor lineup, new talents

Visitors look around boothsat the Galleries Art Fair held at the Coex exhibition center in Seoul, Wednesday. Newsis

Korea’s oldest art fair opened its doors Thursday with its largest edition yet, signaling renewed confidence in the country’s art market despite lingering concerns over a broader slowdown.

The 44th Galleries Art Fair is being held at Seoul's Coex and will stay open until Sunday, bringing together a total of 169 leading domestic galleries and a broad cross-section of contemporary Korean art.

Hosted by the Galleries Association of Korea, the fair invited VIPs and press for a preview on Wednesday, a day before the official opening, drawing almost 4,500 visitors. Organizers and art dealers said the crowd — noticeably younger than in previous years — offered an early indication that demand for contemporary art, especially among Millennial and Gen Z collectors, remains resilient.

Launched in 1979, Galleries Art Fair was the country’s first art fair and has since functioned as a barometer of the domestic art market.

Participation is limited to member galleries of the association, keeping the number of foreign mega-galleries at a minimum. Another key element is that all participating galleries are required to present their artists in uniformly sized 6-by-6-meter booths, a rule that organizers say levels the playing field and puts the focus squarely on artworks rather than on lavish displays.

This year, the association also celebrates the fair's 50th anniversary, adding a layer of introspection to its usual market-driven bustle. The association is also marking the anniversary with a special exhibition featuring archival materials that trace the evolution of the Korean gallery scene.

Beyond its historical lens, this year’s edition broadens its cultural role by investing in new talents.

The seventh “Zoom-In” special exhibition, the fair’s flagship emerging artist program, selected 10 artists from a pool of roughly 700 applicants.

Visitors look around booths at the Galleries Art Fair held at the Coex exhibition center in Seoul, Wednesday. Newsis

The lineup — including Kim Soo-youn, Park Si-wol, Song Da-seul, Yoon Julie In-sun, Lee Su-ji, Lee Shin-a, Lee Siennie, Jung Mi-jung, Jung Jean and Ha Sung-wook — spans installation, digital media art, photography and other experimental formats, underscoring the diversity of artistic means.

Berlin-based artist Kim Soo-youn, for instance, is presenting a sculptural calendar work that translates sunrise, sunset and lunar cycles for Seoul in 2026 into geometric structures, inviting viewers to experience time as a constructed, sensory form rather than a mere linear flow.

Digital artist Yoon Julie In-sun uses vector graphics to weave stripes and shapes into dense, painting-like compositions produced through repetitive, almost ritualistic digital labor.

The exhibition culminates with the presentation of the Zoom-In Award to be given to three winners, chosen by fair visitors and expert jurors, on Sunday.

Early sales suggest that collectors are responding to both blue-chip names and fresh voices.

Kukje Gallery reported placing a Julian Opie work priced in the 90 million won range and a piece by Kim Yoon-shin in the 40 million won range, along with multiple works by Jang Pa, Park Seo-bo and Lotus Kang.

Midsized and regional galleries, including Bandi Trazzo, Gallery Bakyoung and Geumsan Gallery, reported steady sales of paintings and sculptures by emerging and midcareer artists, some of whom had previously gained recognition through the Zoom-In platform.