Experience art in Busan all year long at these fairs and exhibits

Arts & Design

Published: 03 Apr. 2024, 14:58

Experience art in Busan all year long at these fairs and exhibits

"America, his unwavering attitude" (2021) by Bang Jeong-a, a participating artist in this year's Busan Biennale [BUSAN BIENNALE]

In recent years, the southeastern port city of Busan, a cinema mecca famous for its beautiful beaches, has also slowly but steadily built a reputation as a city rich with art.

The Korea JoongAng Daily curated a list of major art events, both ongoing and upcoming, for whenever life takes you there next.

"Exhausting Project 23-3-1: Conceptual Painting Disguised as a Retinal Painting" (2023) by Kim Yong-ik [KUKJE GALLERY]

Kukje Gallery

Until April 21: Kukje Gallery’s Busan branch in Suyeong District, inside the F1963 cultural complex, is presenting a solo show for 77-year-old artist Kim Yong-ik. Titled “Distant and Faraway Utopia,” the show emphasizes Kim’s “Exhausting Project” series (2018-), in which the artist attempts to exhaust the paints that he owns without buying any more. The series is comprised of canvas paintings in which a surface is divided into geometric compositions so the artist can evenly distribute the paints, a method that Kim calls a “ritual in order to let loose of his approach to his own death.”

“This project began because I received a divine intervention, in that my wish is for my life to end happily in the same moment I use up all my paints,” Kim told the press last month at the gallery. “But of course, I wouldn’t know exactly when.”

To Kim, art is now a way to kill time until his final breath. Kim using up his paints symbolizes the exhaustion of the remaining days of his life, not to mention reducing waste.

“My only goal is to practice the ‘well-ending’ of my life,” Kim said. But he doesn’t necessarily mean it in a negative light; rather, he jokes about it, as it’s all a natural process of life.

“I initially painted thin layers onto the canvas because I was afraid I would use them up too soon,” he said. “But then I was afraid I may never see the end to them, so now and then, whenever I feel sick, I paint thicker layers.”

Kim expects to use up all colors except for black and white first, and then he plans to create black-and-white dansaekhwa, or Korean monochrome paintings.

Kukje Gallery’s Busan branch is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesdays to Sundays. The exhibition is free.

“Used to Be My Home Too” (2021) video installation by Marc Lee, on view at the Busan Museum of Contemporary Art [BUSAN MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART]

Busan Museum of Contemporary Art

Until July 7: The Busan Museum of Contemporary Art, or Busan MoCA, in Saha District is presenting three concurrent exhibitions each with a distinctive theme. The locality of Busan is explored through the “This is Not Just Local: Tactical Practices” exhibit that shows 145 works from 51 teams of artists. The artworks should be approached personally: They are not about the geographical aspects of Busan, but the physical experiences and stories that the artists aim to tell.

The “Masterful Attention Seekers” exhibition spotlights 23 artist teams who each express themselves through whimsical and outlandish identities, as the title suggests. Artists include Sung Neung Kyung, Shin Min, Cho Young-nam and Chris Burden. The exhibition dives into the fundamental human desire for attention, but also expands the narrative to how attention-seeking contributes to promoting the public’s interest in social issues that ultimately facilitate change for the better.

The final exhibition consists of two pieces from Busan MoCA’s permanent collection: the “Used to Be My Home Too” (2021) video installation by Marc Lee and the “LMO3116” (2016) kinetic installation by Studio 1750, both of which deal with the ecosystem. “Used to Be My Home Too” shows visualized data on different animal species from all over the world in real time in a livestream format, while “LMO3116” is comprised of vinyl dandelion puffs that repeatedly inflate and deflate, meant to evoke questions about the impact of plastic on the environment.

Busan MoCA is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Mondays. The exhibitions are free.

"After Sunset" (2022) by Kang Kang-hoon, represented by Johyun Gallery at Art Busan this year [ART BUSAN]

Art Busan

May 9 – 12: For anyone interested in buying art, the Art Busan art fair is the place to be. The annual event is set to return for its 13th edition at the usual Art Bexco venue in Haeundae District. Art Busan features booths set up by prominent art galleries including Kukje Gallery, PKM Gallery, Hakgojae Gallery and Gallery Hyundai, as well as up-and-coming galleries like Prompt Project, Pageroom8 and Gallery Unplugged.

The “Connect” special exhibition inside the art fair is more for people who just want to enjoy the art. The exhibition will be organized by Joo Yeon-hwa, an art professor at Hongik University, highlighting Asian female artists.

“We’ve always made sure to introduce high-quality artwork and galleries, but there has never really been an integrating message,” Jeong Seok-ho, managing director of Art Busan, said in a press conference on Tuesday. That’s one factor that Art Busan says it aims to change with the appointment of inaugural artistic director Joo.

Art Busan is also debuting Art Round, an online art fair platform through which users can view information on artworks and galleries without having to visit in person, for the duration of the fair.

Art Busan is open exclusively to VIP members and press on May 9, and to the public from the next day, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. The last day will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. A 10 percent discount is available for ticket preorders made on Naver, starting at 27,000 won ($20).

″Buddha Face″ (2015) by Lee Doo-won, a participating artist in this year's Busan Biennale [BUSAN BIENNALE]

Busan Biennale

Aug. 17 – Oct. 20: The 15th edition of the Busan Biennale will be held under the theme “Seeing in the Dark” across three different citywide venues: the Busan MoCA, a former Hyundai showroom in Jung District and the Choryang House in Dong District.

For the first time in history, the Busan Biennale is introducing two artistic directors — Vera Mey and Philippe Pirotte — and the event is set to be held two weeks earlier than normal for the convenience of tourists heading to Busan for their summer vacation.

“Seeing in the Dark” is a “visual paradox” stemming from themes of “pirate utopias” and Buddhist monasticism, based on the ideas of American anthropologist David Graeber (1961-2020).

“What does it mean to see in the dark?” Mey said during a press conference earlier this month. It was the duo’s intention to connect the histories of the oceans and pirate communities and how “that might connect with another very important form of enlightenment in Korea, which is through Buddhism.”

Some 70 artists from 35 regions are set to participate in this year’s Busan Biennale, and the first batch of artists announced were Golrokh Nafisi, Ahmadali Kadivar, Bang Jeong-a, Cheikh Ndiaye, Song Cheon, Yun Suk-nam, Nguyen Phuong Linh, Truong Que Chi, Lee Doo-won, Jung Eugene, John Vea and Tracy Naa Koshie Thompson.

Opening hours and tickets for the Busan Biennale vary across the venues. Visit its official Instagram (@busanbiennale) for more information.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]