Home > Culture > Arts & Design

Frieze Seoul to bring over 120 global galleries to Coex

Published: 29 May. 2025, 18:48 Updated: 30 May. 2025, 14:39

Visitors pass by the Gagosian gallery booth during Frieze Seoul's VIP preview at Coex in southern Seoul in September 2024. [YONHAP]

More than 120 galleries from over 30 countries will participate in the upcoming Frieze Seoul art fair, set to take place at Coex in southern Seoul from Sept. 3 to 6.

Frieze unveiled the list of participating galleries on Thursday, including over 80 that will feature in the fair’s main section.

Major international names such as David Zwirner, Esther Schipper, Gagosian, Gladstone, Hauser & Wirth, Thaddaeus Ropac and Perrotin will be joined by prominent Asian galleries including Antenna Space from China, Galerie Quynh from Vietnam, STPI from Singapore, Take Ninagawa and Tomio Koyama from Japan and The Drawing Room from the Philippines.

Leading Korean galleries participating include Arario Gallery, Gallery 2, Gallery Baton, Gallery Hyundai, Jason Haam, Johyun Gallery, Kukje Gallery, P21 and PKM Gallery.

This year will also see first-time appearances by 10 Chancery Lane Gallery from Hong Kong, Kenji Taki Gallery from Japan, Hive Center for Contemporary Art from China and Lee Eugean Gallery from Korea.

In the Frieze Masters section, which showcases works ranging from antiquities to 20th-century art, new additions include Kotaro Nukaga Gallery and A Lighthouse Called Kanata from Japan, and Spurs Gallery from China.

The Focus Asia section will spotlight solo presentations by emerging artists from 10 Asia-based galleries founded after 2012. The section is co-curated by Joselina Cruz, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in Manila and Jang Hye-jung, curator of the Doosan Art Center. Featured artists, alongside their galleries, include Im Sun-goo with The Drawing Room, Chu Mi-rim with Baik Art, Jung Eu-gene with Sangheeut, Taiki Yokote with CON_ Gallery and Christine Tien Wang with PTT Space.

Visitors browse gallery booths during Frieze Seoul's VIP preview at Coex in southern Seoul in September 2024. [NEWS1]

Coinciding with Frieze Seoul, the city will host “Night” events during the same week, with galleries across Seoul, including in Euljiro, Hannam-dong, Cheongdam-dong and Samcheong-dong, staying open late.

Major exhibitions will also run during this period at key museums including the Leeum Museum of Art’s Lee Bul solo exhibition, the Seoul Museum of Art’s Seoul Mediacity Biennale, the Amorepacific Museum of Art’s Mark Bradford solo exhibition, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Kim Tschang-yeul retrospective and the Hoam Museum of Art’s Louise Bourgeois solo exhibition.

"The fair has quickly become an essential meeting point for Korean and international audiences, and this year’s program promises to further deepen such exchanges — not only within Coex but across the entire city,” Frieze Seoul Director Patrick Lee said in a press release.

Admission is priced at 250,000 won ($181) for the preview and 80,000 won for a one-day pass. Early bird tickets, with a discount of up to 30 percent, will be available starting June 16.

Running alongside Frieze Seoul will be Kiaf Seoul, organized by the Galleries Association of Korea. Set to run from Sept. 3 to 7 under the theme “Resonance,” the fair will feature 176 galleries from about 20 countries.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KWON KEUN-YOUNG [[email protected]]