Art Busan is packed but sales tad slow as collectors take cautious stance

Art Busan, one of Korea's leading art fairs, returned this year with the largest edition ever hosted in the country, with 145 galleries from 22 countries setting up their booths across the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO). Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol

Korean art market experiences slowdown, but latest fair aims to invite more emerging international galleries to attract art lovers

By Park Han-sol

BUSAN ― Art lovers and collectors have gathered in Korea's second-largest city on the first weekend of May for a major culture-filled outing: Art Busan.

The leading art fair returned this year with the largest edition ever hosted in the country, with 145 galleries from 22 countries setting up their booths across the sprawling 26,500-square-meter hall at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO).

The four-day event made a seemingly auspicious start as long lines of visitors stretched down the hall on Thursday in time for the VIP opening.

But it remains to be seen how much the visibly increased public interest will actually affect sales figures in the end, especially considering that the country's art market, which peaked last year after surpassing the 1 trillion won ($759 million) mark for the first time, is experiencing a slowdown following the global economic downturn.

Last year, the fair's sales hit a record high of 74.6 billion won after drawing in more than 102,000 art enthusiasts.

Prominent local art dealer Gallery Hyundai has returned to Busan for the fair, bringing the works of artists like Kenny Scharf, Lee Kun-Yong, Simon Fujiwara, Lee Kang-so and Shin Sung-hy into its booth. Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol

Prominent dealers here and abroad have returned to Busan for the event ― Thaddeus Ropac, Peres Projects, Whitestone Gallery, Tang Contemporary Art, Kukje Gallery, Gallery Hyundai, Hakgojae Gallery, among others.

A number of them reported a string of topline sales by the end of the VIP preview day.

Kukje Gallery sold Korean modern abstract master Ha Chong-hyun's piece from his world-renowned series, "Conjunction," for between $515,000 and $580,000, as well as a gouache painting by American sculptor Alexander Calder for over $250,000.

Gallery Hyundai confirmed the 400 million won sale of performance artist Lee Kun-yong's large-scale "Bodyscape" painting.

Tang Contemporary Art, which spotlighted creators like Ai Weiwei, Chun Kwang-young and Woo Kuk-won, announced that it sold a majority of its exhibited pieces, and Peres Projects, which recently opened a new space in Seoul's cultural district of Samcheong-dong, placed the works of Ad Minoliti, Bayrol Jimenez, Paolo Salvador and Rebecca Ackroyd to its buyers.

But at the same time, gallerists like Javier Peres, founder of Peres Projects, which has been participating in Art Busan since 2019, remarked that the overall first-day sales were indeed "slower" compared to previous editions.

"For the last two years, the Korean art market experienced an unprecedented boom. In comparison to those years, it does feel like the heat has relatively died down," another gallery official told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.

Shanghai-headquartered Leo Gallery, one of the international newcomers to Art Busan, highlights eight Chinese and European painters, like the emerging artist Kai Chen, at its booth. Courtesy of Leo Gallery

International newcomers

Among the 145 participating galleries, more than a dozen are newcomers to the Korean art scene, including Shanghai-headquartered Leo Gallery, Amsterdam-based Galerie Bart, Madrid-based VETA by Fer Frances and Lazy Mike, which has relocated its space from Moscow to Riga, Latvia in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine War.

"We decided to (come here), because a couple of our artists received so much interest from local Korean collectors on social media," said Mikhail Ovcharenko, co-founder of Lazy Mike along with his wife, Tanya Stern.

The gallery primarily works with Russian and Ukrainian creators, who have either decided to stay in their home countries because of their families or relocate following the political turmoil. On view in its booth are the works of Moscow-based twin artists, Aleksey and Anton Tvorogov, who produce dark fairy tale-inspired sculptures and paintings.

Nuo Yin from Leo Gallery noted that the Chinese gallery has been eyeing to expand its collector base, currently made up of those from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, into the bigger Asia-Pacific region.

"For the past few years, we could definitely see there was a growing shift of interest; the global art market, it's focusing more and more on the Korean area," she said.

The eight Chinese and European painters the dealer highlighted at the booth, like the emerging artist Kai Chen, were quite well-received and intrigued different audience groups ― a higher ratio of casual art lovers than professional collectors ― throughout the first day, she added.

Visitors take photos of vibrant, eye-popping works of Dutch artist duo Rotteveel Vermeer presented at the booth of Amsterdam-based Galerie Bart. Yonhap

Galerie Bart's manager Niek de Brabander echoed the sentiment: "We are very interested in the Korean art market, as we heard that it is booming, and ... Busan has a convenient geographical position in Asia."

The Dutch exhibitor introduced the vibrant works of artist duo Rotteveel Vermeer. The two colorists focus on bringing to life the intriguing, eye-popping mix of different color palettes with folded-up foil and tape.

"I think our visits to Korea are really going to inspire us in our new work," Thomas Vermeer said, adding that he and Jochem Rotteveel were fascinated by the color aesthetics of Seoul's skyscrapers, street signs and Busan's picturesque Gamcheon Culture Village.

"We felt that their pieces would suit the (taste of the) Korean public, and they did," de Brabander noted. A couple of the duo's framed works were sold by the end of the day, and the dealer expects to see more sales based on the amount of interest shown by the booth's visitors.

It remains to be seen how much the visibly increased public interest will actually affect the final sales figures at Art Busan, especially considering that the country's art market, which peaked last year after surpassing the 1 trillion won ($759 million) mark for the first time, is experiencing a slowdown following the global economic downturn. Yonhap

Jeong Seok-ho, managing director of Art Busan, told The Korea Times that the art fair aims to serve as a "bridge" between the Korean collectors and the global art dealers.

"Among the 12 international galleries that currently have their outposts in Seoul, eight, including Peres Projects, Thaddaeus Ropac and Tang Contemporary Art, were first introduced to the Korean art scene by us," he explained. "We are striving to continue in this role, so that we can invite a global dealer that can be the next Peres or Ropac in Korea."

"There is an amazing generosity of spirit and an amazing creative receptiveness I find in Korea," said British neo-pop artist Philip Colbert, whose signature gigantic inflatable lobster in an octopus costume is now sitting across Busan's Haeundae Beach as part of Art Busan's special exhibition section.

The art fair runs through Sunday at BEXCO.

Visitors look at painter Kim Chong-hak's masterpieces centered on the themes of spring and summer at Art Busan's special exhibition section. Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol