South Korea's capital, Seoul, is buzzing with the arrival of the international art world for today's inauguration of Frieze's first venture in Asia. Frieze Seoul is the fifth fair launched by Frieze, joining Frieze Los Angeles, Frieze New York, Frieze London and Frieze Masters. Participating galleries include a strong contingent of Asian galleries, who will join international galleries from 20 countries. Frieze Seoul aims to highlight Seoul as a global art hub.
Korea's emerging art market is on the rise, and we may soon see it become the art capital in Asia. With the country's thriving local gallery scene, a growing class of affluent collectors, developed infrastructure, and low taxes -- and in some cases, tax exemptions -- on art, it is no wonder Seoul looks very attractive to do business.
Here are my top picks from Frieze Viewing Room.
Courtesy of Frieze
Life Forms, 2022
Lost-wax cast bronze, hand-blown glass, flame-worked borosilicate
$ 35,000
Kelly Akashi (b. 1983, USA) is a Los Angeles-based artist working in sculpture and photography, often using materials like wax, glass, bronze, light, and air to emphasize time and ephemerality. The artist graduated with an MFA from the University of Southern California in 2014. Akashi studied at the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste - Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main and received her BFA at Otis College of Art and Design in 2006.
Courtesy of Frieze
Three Figures, 2020
Graphite pencil on paper
Price not available
Zhang Yunyao (b. 1985, China) creates mystifying drawings with subjects taken from biblical, classical, and mythological scenes immortalized by the master sculptors and painters of antiquity. His work explores the temporal nature of painting and the instability and intersections of historical and personal memory. He graduated from the Department of Oil Painting, Academy of Fine Arts at Shanghai Normal University.
Courtesy of Frieze
Painting No. 3, 2022 (4.8.22), 2022
Oil-based paints, mixed media on panel
$ 60,000
Oliver Lee Jackson (1935, USA) is an American painter, printmaker, sculptor, and educator. His gestural and expressionist paintings have a mixture of cultural references and iconography, including aspects of the African American experience, surrealism, cave paintings, and references to historical African and Oceanian art. He has a BFA from Illinois Wesleyan University and an MFA from the University of Iowa. He is based in Oakland, California.
Courtesy of Frieze
Malcolm's Legacy, 2022
2 panels; oil, enamel, pigment, acrylic, matboard
$ 150,000
Tavares Strachan (b. 1979, Bahamas) is a conceptual artist. His contemporary multi-media installations investigate science, technology, mythology, history, and exploration. He received a BFA in Glass from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2003 and an MFA in Sculpture from Yale University in 2006. He lives and works between New York City and Nassau.
Courtesy of Frieze
Bang Bang Crush, 2022
Acrylic on canvas
Under $5k
Appearing in gestural, expressive, and fierce moments, Yirui Jia’s (b.1997, China) paintings examine and celebrate the fantastic lives of mundane existence. She received her BFA from Gettysburg College and her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Jia works and lives in New York City.