From Hwang Suyeon’s New Work to Emerging Galleries: Korean Art in London and Paris

[Financial News] An installation by Hwang Suyeon, featuring sand hardened and submerged in water, will be on view to London audiences. In Paris, seven emerging Korean galleries will present works by 17 artists or artist teams, expanding their connections with the European art world.
According to the Korea Arts Management Service on the 12th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the service are collaborating with Frieze London and Paris Internationale to support Korean artists and galleries seeking to expand into Europe. Alongside exhibitions, they are also organizing exchange programs with local curators, collectors, and art institutions.
At Frieze London, which opens on the 14th at Regent’s Park in London, UK, Hwang Suyeon’s new work, “Things That Sink,” will be presented as part of the “Platform Korea” program. The installation in a prominent area of the main fair features solidified sand forms submerged partly or fully in water. It showcases the artist’s exploration of the material properties of materials and their relationships with gravity, weight, pressure, balance, and the body.
The day before, on the 13th, a discussion of international trends in Korean contemporary art will take place at Frieze’s exhibition space, “Number 9 Cork Street.” It will be moderated by Charlotte Horlyck, professor of Korean art history at SOAS University of London, with Professor Jeong Yeon-sim of Hongik University and Jo Min-gu, a curatorial fellow at South London Gallery, taking part.
In Paris, France, the “Next Korea Galleries” special exhibition will run from the 19th to the 24th near the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement. Galleries established less than five years ago will participate. Korean and French curators Yoo Ji-won and Orianne Durand have organized the exhibition around the theme “Second Nature.”
Seven galleries—Ranee Seoul, WWNN, Sanghieut, APIO Project, Erya, Ingahee Gallery, and Caption—will present 43 works. Talks introducing each gallery’s curatorial approach and artists, artist performances, and exhibition tours for local professionals are also planned. The organizers will also support exchanges with the Guimet Museum and Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, among others.
Launched in 2003, Frieze London is an international art fair that has focused on contemporary art by living artists. Paris Internationale operates independently as a nonprofit initiative led by galleries, and opens its doors to visitors beyond the art world through free admission and public conversation programs.
Kim Jang-ho, CEO of the Korea Arts Management Service, said, “We will broaden the foundation for emerging artists and galleries to expand into Europe, and provide support so that this can lead to tangible follow-up outcomes in exhibitions, distribution, research, collaboration, and other areas in the future.”

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