Korean Art London
6 – 22 July, 2023
Mall Galleries
The Mall
London SW1
6 July Preview Day
Tickets: £30 (includes refreshments, tours, live performances)
7 July Art Party | 6pm-10pm
Tickets: £32 – £45 (includes Korean street food, wine, DJ, live artist performances)
7 July – 22 July | General Entrance | Open daily 10am-5pm
Early bird (before 30 May) £15 Students/Seniors £12 | Online Tickets £18, Students/Seniors. £15 | On the door £20 Students/Seniors £18
Korean Art London (KAL) is a new Artists Fair led by gallerist Rok Hee Hwang working with Genie Ahn as Lead Curator. Supported by the Federation of Artistic & Cultural Organisation of Korea (FACOK), Hwang is bringing 30+ contemporary South Korean artists to Mall Galleries in the heart of London’s West End. The fair will take over all three of the gallery’s spaces (totalling 450sqm).
Korean Art London 2023 will be the first in a series of annual KAL fairs. In a 2022 interview with FAD Magazine, Hwang said: ‘Modern technologies have vastly shifted cultural traditions in South Korea, yet a longing for identity and practice of culture remains. The artists bring their experiences of South Korean culture and tradition into a postmodern world, yet they enjoy reproducing and reconstituting Korean Masters’ techniques through their work.’
Hwang is the CEO of Mews Gallery, Gangwon-do, which she founded to promote the world-class visual and performing arts of Korea, with a focus on international touring exhibitions. Mews Gallery, in partnership with FACOK, has a successful history of organising contemporary art shows in the UK and Australia.
Oil on linen, 2023 45.5×60.5
The curatorial team is led by Genie Ahn who is head of the Academic Arts department at Sungkyunkwan University Museum. Ahn is widely recognised in Korea for her regular appearances on Korean television and known for her columns in the Dong-A Daily Newspaper (Dong-A Ilbo). Her books include Modern Perspectives, Joseon Art Exhibition and Popular Art and Cultural Contents . She is currently Advisory of Korean Art DNA at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Major curatorial projects include Munjado, Meet the Modern at Hyundai Gallery. Ahn is supported at KAL by curators Seulki Yoo and Vittoria Beltrame who are based in London.
THE K-WAVE
South Korea’s dynamic culture – notably K-pop and K-drama – has had a major impact on the world’s creative industries. Indeed, the influence of the South Korean aesthetic is profound. After hosting its first Frieze art fair in September 2022, Seoul is now seen as south-east Asia’s visual art capital. While the Korean diaspora in London is estimated to be around 20,000 (53,000 nationwide), there are fans of K-culture everywhere and the V&A’s hugely popular exhibition, Hallyu! The Korean Wave , is currently thrilling hordes of visitors. Korean Art London 2023 is set to be the next creative wave to crash over the UK. In order to encourage creative exchange, and to provide the artists with the best possible platform for introducing their work to the London art world, the artists will be staying in the capital during the exhibition.
‘Our mission is to show the world-class quality of Korean contemporary art, as well as the outstanding talents of individual Korean artists. We are here to provide a platform, leading to exhibition debut opportunities around the world.’ Rok Hee Hwang, Korean Art London
91cm 73cm acrylic on canvas, 2012
In addition to the fair at Mall Galleries, KAL 2023 offers a programme of satellite events in selected venues across London and the South East. Confirmed to-date are: a solo show of the work of Sang Woon Nam at Aleph Contemporary 3-28 July to be held in its Farringdon space at The Bindery; and two exhibitions at J/M Gallery, Notting Hill Gate curated by Seulki Yoo. The first of work by artist Anikoon titled ‘You are my Hero’ 12-23 July and the second, ‘Girl’s Talk’ 25-31 July showing work by women artists, Ha Jin Lee, J RYU and Ji Young Hong,
THE ARTISTS
Painting : Na Ri Choi, Jin Hyun Nam, Lee K, Mi Ran Woo, Sang Woon Nam, Ji Young Hong, Anikoon, Won Seok Lee, Dong Jin Kim, Ha Jin Lee, Ji Yeun Hong, Jeong Min Kim, SUU, Sun Ok Lim, Chae Rim Heo, Duk Hwan Cho, Gyu Won Lee, Hyoung Pyo Hong, Kyoung Mook Park, Ellyang, J RYU, Soon Young Yang, Jun Won Lee.
Mixed media : Choong Mok Yoo, Je Won Yoon, Jin Seok Lee, MeME, So Ra Shin, Sung Hee Kim. Sculpture : Min Chan Kim. Print: Mi Jeong Cho, Ju Eun Chung. Product Design: Jong Beom Kwak.
©2023 KOREAN ART LONDON 2023
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