At the newly-launched independent art fair, Art OnO, which ran from April 18 to 21 at the Seoul Trade Exhibition and Convention (SETEC), Seoul-based PIBI Gallery put forth a solo presentation of Korean artist Cha Hye-lim. Courtesy of Art OnO

In the first half of 2024, the key themes driving the performance of a series of established and novice art fairs held across Korea are "young" and "emerging," amid a cooling market.

While this year didn't yield record-breaking results for major homegrown fairs, there was still a positive trend in overall transaction volume largely propelled by emerging artists and an expanding pool of young collectors.

This growth in buyer activity, particularly pronounced at lower price levels, was evident at the Galleries Art Fair, the oldest event of its kind in Korea since its founding in 1979. The event attracted 58,000 visitors during its run from April 3 to 7 at COEX in southern Seoul.

"We've witnessed a significant increase in demand for the works of promising young talents with reasonable price tags, especially those attracting the attention of social media-savvy Generation MZ [Millennials and Gen Z] collectors," noted the fair's organizer, Galleries Association of Korea.

Among the many sought-after young and nascent creatives were Lee Woo-sung and Kim Eun-jeong from Hakgojae Gallery, Heo Chan-mi from Wooson Gallery and Lee Doo-won from Gallery Mac.

This year's edition of the Galleries Art Fair drew 58,000 visitors during its run from April 3 to 7 at COEX in southern Seoul. Courtesy of Galleries Association of Korea

Following close on its heels was the 13th edition of the Busan Annual Market of Art (BAMA).

Held from April 11 to 14 at BEXCO in the southeastern port city, the fair attracted 120,000 visitors and achieved an estimated sales figure of 19.6 billion won ($14.2 million). This performance was similarly driven by the increased interest in newly minted creatives who have kick-started their careers in the last few years.

Meanwhile, the ongoing Breeze Art Fair has enlisted 96 emerging artists to personally showcase and sell their pieces at the Seoul Arts Center's Hangaram Art Museum until April 28. Since its inception in 2012, the event has positioned itself as an even more accessible entry point for novice collectors, with a quarter of its buyers being individuals purchasing artworks for the first time.

The inaugural edition of Art OnO, founded by young collector Noh Jae-myung, invited 36 blue-chip and emerging galleries from 15 countries during its four-day run from April 18 to 21. Courtesy of Art OnO

Collector-turned-art fair founder's Art OnO

Capitalizing on this burgeoning appetite for fresh talent in the country's art market, Art OnO made its debut at the Seoul Trade Exhibition and Convention (SETEC) in southern Seoul last week.

Months before its launch, Art OnO, which stands for "one and only," had initially generated buzz within the local art fair circuit, as it stemmed from a rare, if not first, endeavor spearheaded by a young globetrotting collector.

Envisioned by 33-year-old Noh Jae-myung, the independent fair then garnered attention for its particular approach in inviting 36 galleries from 15 countries.

In fact, what Noh wanted to avoid in his curatorial vision was the presentation of "just more of the same thing, regardless where the fair is held" — a trend he found increasingly prevalent as a collector attending such events in Miami, Basel, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul.

Instead, in an interview with The Korea Times, he shared his commitment to providing a stage where galleries — both blue-chip heavyweights and emerging exhibitors — could take risks and bring out something new, experimental and offbeat, with less emphasis on saleability and usual six-figure art fair darlings.

The result? A dynamic mix of major dealers, such as Berlin-headquartered Esther Schipper and Hong Kong-founded Pearl Lam Galleries, alongside fast-growing players like Chicago's Mariane Ibrahim Gallery and Seoul's CYLINDER, all intermingling across the three exhibition halls of SETEC.

Installation view of Paris-based cadet capela's booth at Art OnO, which featured the paintings and sculptures of four rising artists: Blake Daniels, Molly Greene, Jordy Kerwick and Ken Sortais / Courtesy of Art OnO

Galleries — both blue-chip heavyweights and emerging exhibitors — at Art OnO were encouraged to bring out something new, experimental and offbeat, with less emphasis on saleability and usual six-figure art fair darlings. Courtesy of Art OnO

This "intermingling" also extended to the roster of artists presented by the exhibitors.

There were striking works put forth by rising creatives: Seoul-based Choi Ji-won's uncanny porcelain doll-inspired paintings (ThisWeekendRoom), Guernsey-born Isaac Lythgoe's unsettling metal creatures (Duarte Sequeira) and Welsh-Ghanaian artist Anya Paintsil's tapestries that take cues from Afro hairstyling and traditional Welsh rug hooking techniques (Pearl Lam Galleries).

These eye-dazzlers stood shoulder to shoulder, without hierarchy, alongside established names — Philippe Parreno's flickering light (Esther Schipper), Yoshitomo Nara's 1997 drawings (Galerie Zink), and Noritaka Tatehana's gravity-defying, "heel-less" platform shoes (Kosaku Kanechika).

"Usually, when galleries exhibit at art fairs and reach a certain point, people start expecting them to bring certain artists and works. For more established ones, it becomes kind of a standardized pattern, because they do everything the same everywhere. Here, galleries know they can — and are challenged to — experiment with their presentation," Duarte Sequeira, founder of the eponymous Portuguese gallery that opened its first Seoul outpost in 2022, told The Korea Times.

"While it's natural that major fairs have the most exposure and bring the best collectors because they've been around for so long, the more experimental fairs are the ones that sometimes push the limits further. I think it's very important that you not only have the more established fairs, but also new interventions [like Art OnO] that can help the art scene grow together."

Installation view of Seoul-founded CYLINDER's booth at Art OnO, which juxtaposed the paintings and installations of four rising creatives: Lucas Dupuy, Lee Eu-sung, Kolja Kärtner Sainz and Oh Hyun-seog / Courtesy of CYLINDER

At its booth, CYLINDER, a gallery established four years ago and a winner of the Focus Asia Stand Prize at last year's Frieze Seoul for its compelling solo presentation of Yoo Si-nae, juxtaposed the paintings and installations of four nascent creatives — Lucas Dupuy, Lee Eu-sung, Kolja Kärtner Sainz and Oh Hyun-seog — to visualize the theme of organic circulation and fluidity.

Chicago-founded Mariane Ibrahim Gallery turned its focus to its four leading female creatives, including Eva Jospin, who composes captivating architectural landscapes handcrafted entirely from cardboard. "Our participation and interest in showcasing our female artists was very particular to this fair, especially the conversation and dialogue that the works are having with one another," said its director, Emma McKee.

Angela Bulloch's oddly-shaped metal totems, front, are in dialogue with Liam Gillick's powder-coated aluminum installation, "Suspended Collapose" (2015), at Esther Schipper Seoul's booth at Art OnO. Courtesy of the artists and Esther Schipper, Berlin, Paris, Seoul

And blue-chip stalwart Esther Schipper featured a layered program with its creatives. Eye-grabbing pieces, like Angela Bulloch's oddly-shaped metal totems and Rosa Barba's slowly unwinding celluloid film strips inside a glass case, stood alongside the high-powered paintings of young female artists, including Jeon Hyun-sun, who recently joined the gallery.

"The inherent social interactions that define contemporary art are quite specific and intimate. So in many ways… local independent art fairs invite a local appreciation and presence which the larger fairs very often lack," noted Kim Sun-il, chief executive director of Esther Schipper Seoul.

"Because the Korean art community is quite intertwined where everyone seems to know everyone, I believe Art OnO is quite well positioned to create very important connections between art and the audience, collectors and galleries."

Kim Na-hyung, director of Seoul-based ThisWeekendRoom, echoed this sentiment: "There have been various attempts made to highlight emerging galleries and project spaces in the domestic scene over the years, but I believe ArtOnO is notable for its balanced [and more intimate] representation of both high-end and rising exhibitors from here and abroad… This provides a chance for domestic collectors to appreciate the works brought forth by international galleries, while also serving as an effective catalyst for connecting global dealers with rising creatives of Korea."

Installation view of Seoul-based ThisWeekendRoom's booth at Art OnO, which brought together the canvas and fabric works of four emerging artists: Choi Ji-won, Kim Jin-hee, Lucas Kaiser and Adam Boyd / Courtesy of ThisWeekendRoom

A special exhibition, "OyO (Once You Own It)," at Art OnO consisted entirely of video art and time-based works — mediums that are often overlooked in art fair circuits due to their low saleability and difficult handling. Courtesy of Art OnO

An accompanying special exhibition, "OyO (Once You Own It)," mounted on a series of shipping crates in a large open space, added another dimension to the event. The show consisted entirely of video art and time-based works — mediums that are often overlooked in art fair circuits due to their low saleability and difficult handling.

"What I heard most from visitors throughout the four days was that there was nothing that struck them in a ‘bad' way. There wasn't any piece that didn't sit well or felt like it didn't belong with the others," Noh told The Korea Times.

"Even though Art OnO is not explicitly branded as a market-driven fair, a number of participating galleries have informed me that the visitor responses and sales were beyond expectations, especially considering the current economic slowdown. And those exhibitors were wide-ranging in terms of nationalities, sizes and artist rosters; there wasn't a predictable pattern in the overall result, which was what I had wanted from the start."