Local department stores showcase high-end art to attract attention

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Local department stores showcase high-end art to attract attention

Published: 23 Mar. 2023, 10:51

Artist Kim Jae-yong’s glazed ceramic donuts are installed at Shinsegae Department Store’s Gangnam branch. [MOON SO-YOUNG]

On the third floor of Shinsegae Department Store’s Gangnam branch, amid the slew of high-end boutiques, artist Lee Ufan’s 1992 masterpiece “With Winds” casually hangs as if it were on display at an art museum. The painting is not for sale, according to the department store; but other artworks on the same floor such as a flower print by American artist Alex Katz and a painting by Lee Sang-won are up for grabs.

Nationally-hailed artist Lee Jung-seob’s (1916-1956) first solo exhibition in 1955 was at the Midopa Department Store (the now Lotte Young Plaza in Jung District, central Seoul), so the relationship between department stores and art isn’t new per se. But unlike the past when art was shown only in certain sections of department stores, since 2020, art now coexists with other consumable goods in a single space. Today, major department stores such as Shinsegae, Lotte and Hyundai are partaking in this trend, incorporating art into their customers’ shopping experience.

“More people took interest in art during the [Covid-19] pandemic as they began decorating their homes, and as investments in art saw a boom among the MZ Generation [a Korean term collectively referring to Generation Z and Millenials], department stores began to display artworks so that their consumers could easily see and buy them,” said one department store employee.

Some denounce the trend by saying that this type of art display lacks a coherent theme and debases the act of presenting and buying art to that of just regular, everyday products.

Lotte Department Store’s art content department director Kim Young-ae fully recognizes these concerns but believed the phenomenon was also “offering the public greater access to more art.”

“We are also trying to improve our art displays by holding more exhibits with themes,” she added.

“[The purpose of art displays at department stores] is more about company branding than trying to make a profit out of selling many art pieces. People’s impressions [of a space] are strongly affected by visual images so there is the intention of trying to imprint a sophisticated image of the brand to our consumers.”

In regards to concerns that department stores are replacing art galleries and taking away their share of the pie, department store employees say they are hosting exhibitions in collaboration with existing galleries.

For instance, 10 percent of sales for artist Kim Jae-yong’s glazed ceramic donuts that were installed in Shinsegae Department Store’s Gangnam branch last month went to Hakgojae Gallery, according to a gallery employee. Hakgojae Gallery is a major local gallery that artist Kim is signed under.

Smaller gallery ThisWeekendRoom’s director Kim Na-hyung agreed that art in department stores is “certainly an opportunity for contemporary art to move closer to the public.

“However, many who visit department stores are often only interested in pieces with bold colors or ones that have immediate eye-catching images, thus, the artists who can benefit from that promotional effect are limited. Also, people ultimately come to department stores to consume goods, which means that many may have a lower level of understanding about some of the art pieces. In order for these exhibitions to become more than just a one-time event and do more than trigger their [customers] curiosities, the department stores should have an education system, similar to ones at galleries for novice collectors.”

2022 Lotte Art Fair Busan [LOTTE DEPARTMENT STORE]

Department stores are enthusiastically jumping into the art market, often in hand with existing art fairs. Hyundai Department Store’s Busan branch opened “2023 BAMA Preview with Art Hyundai” in February. It served as a preview for the Busan Annual Market of Art” which concluded earlier this month.

Lotte Department Store partnered with Busan’s local art fair Art Busan and plans to host “Lotte Art Fair Busan 2023” at Signiel Busan, in May.

BY MOON SO-YOUNG [kjdculture@joongang.co.kr]