Full-Fledged International Arts Fair to Open in Seoul

South Korea's international art fair will kick off next week in Seoul, with 208 galleries hailing from 18 countries showcasing the works of prominent and new artists up for sale.

  Damien Hirst's 2006 painting   titled 'Clorazepatio Dipotasico'
The annual Korea International Art Fair 2007 (KIAF), which doubled the size of its venue from last year, will take place from May 9 to 13 at COEX Pacific Hall and Indian Hall in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul.

With more than 5,000 works expected to be on display at the fair, the organizers hope that the art collecting boom, which has been steadily growing on the local market, will help increase the number of visitors to the fair from 50,000 last year to 70,000 this year. The total sales volume is also expected to grow from $10.4 million of last year to $18 million, according to the KIAF organizing committee. The volume marks remarkable growth since some $100,000 worth of art sold at the inaugural fair in 2002.

Art lovers will likely find much to like at the fair and novices can expect to brush up on their knowledge of the contemporary art world. Major local galleries such as Kukje and Gana plan to present the works of Namjune Paik, Gerhard Richter, and Damien Hirst, along with home-turf collectors' darlings such as Bae Bien-U and Lee U-fan.

From overseas, 92 galleries are expected to take part in the fair, with Germany, the guest country of the year in 2005, leading with 28. Japan follows with 21.

  A.R. Penck's 'Artisten', a 2002   acrylic work on canvas
To shed more light on the art scene in the guest country, ``New Contemporary Art From Spain; A Proposal'' will be held inside the Pacific Hall, introducing 14 young Spanish artists. Curator and art critic Toni Berini has organized an exhibition that shows a critical approach against the multi-national operation of established art capital. From the Korean side, ``Something Mr. C Can't Have'' will introduce a matching number of young Korean artists inside the Indian Hall. ``Mr. C'' stands for collector, and the exhibition is aimed at displaying ``something public collectors have not yet reached; something constituted by much complicated and delicate languages of contemporary art.''

But if you are a beginner but aspiring art collector, lectures and forums scheduled alongside the fair are not to be missed. Art critic Jung Jun-mo will talk about how the artworks are priced in a lecture on May 10, and critic Choi Byung-sik will discuss trends in the art market on May 12. Dirk Boll, director of Christie's Switzerland, will also talk about the world's art market on May 12. On May 10 and 11, Yu Jin-sang, a professor Kaywon School of Art and Design, will present a luncheon lecture on contemporary art collections.

Tickets are 8,000 won for students, 10,000 won for adults. Forums and lectures held by Spanish panels are to be translated into English and Korean. For more information and a detailed schedule, visit www.kiaf.org.

saltwall@koreatimes.co.kr
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