SOAF @ COEX

The Seoul Open Art Fair is happening at Coex Mall in Gangnam this weekend. Perhaps to distinguish itself from the myriad of other art fairs, perhaps as an ever-too-predictable form of Korean celebrity worship, the fourth annual SOAF had significant floor/ wall space reserved for "celebrity" artists. That alone would seem good enough reason to skip (writing about) the event completely.

Upon entering the hall, a couple prints of Damien Hirst's diamond skulls glittered like McDonald's signs (they are the golden arches of the art world these days) and the rest of the fair exhibited many of the predictable heavy-hitters of the Korean contemporary art scene: Chun Kwangyoung, Kim Tschang (Chang)-Yeul. However, besides these more predictable staples (and the celeb-art), there is always something new to be discovered.


One such artist for me was Kim Hee Jin. His work is currently being exhibited at Keumsan Gallery in Paju (north of Seoul). A small work of his was selling for 600,000 won (US$450), believe it or not. A minuscule amount in this market, which (for some reason) has showed little signs of slowing.

The Great Hands at Gallery Hyundai

Sequins, staples, nails, wood, granite, Legos: these are just some of the materials that obsessive (and Hyundai would claim "great") hands have arranged into very interesting art. It's easily the most fun and accessible exhibition going. Where else will you find a pair of jeans stitched entirely out of Levi tags? 

Gone are all other art questions like What does it mean?, replaced instead  by a marvel of technique. Tom Stoppard wrote, "Imagination without skill gives us contemporary art." The exact opposite seems to be true sometimes in Korea. While some of "The Great Hands" artists seem to lack imagination (ie. a glass-bead rendition of James Dean), there is no dearth of skill. In fact, it is the same single-minded and unyielding work ethic that has driven the Korean economy for the last 20 years. And it's great to see it manifest in more creative ways. 

Some of the artists are already quite well-known. Chun Kwangyoung's lunar landscapes made from Korean mulberry paper seem to be everywhere, for instance. One work varies very little from another from what I've witnessed. I would say Yoon Jongseok's acrylic dots of folded pajamas are pretty predictable too. Maybe an exhibition of just one of these artists would lose its charm fairly quickly. Credit the curators at Gallery Hyundai for combining an eclectic group and creating quite a show.