Art Busan is poised to make a comeback next month with an expanded array of main and satellite programs, aiming to strengthen its identity as one of Korea’s leading homegrown art fairs in the southeastern port city amid a markedly cooling market.Kicking off with a VIP preview on May 9, the four-day fair will gather 127 galleries from 20 countries at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO). The lineup includes Pearl Lam Galleries, Peres Projects and Tang Contemporary Art, along with newcomers such as New York-based Art Tribeca and Madrid-headquartered WE COLLECT. Among the local highlights, Kukje Gallery will present the country’s first-generation female sculptor Kim Yun-shin alongside postwar “dansaekhwa” (monochrome painting) masters. PKM Gallery is focusing on Koo Jeong-a, who will represent the Korean Pavilion at the upcoming Venice Biennale.International heavyweights will also be under the spotlight, with Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota, well-known for her room-filling webs of threads, featured at Gana Art, and Robert Indiana, the pop artist behind the instantly recognizable “Love” sculptures, showcased at Gallery Hyundai.
In addition to gallery booths, the 13th edition of Art Busan is hosting eight special exhibitions under the program “Connect.”To ensure a cohesive integration of each show, the fair organizer appointed Henna Joo, an associate professor of arts and cultural management at Hongik University, as the program’s inaugural guest director.The exhibitions are anchored in two central themes: a dialogue among Asian art scenes and a focus on modern and contemporary female artists.“Herstory” orchestrates a conversation among first-generation Asian women masters — Yayoi Kusama, Jung Kang-ja, Park Re-hyun and Xiao Lu — and their Western contemporaries like Cindy Sherman. Meanwhile, “Focus Asia: China” delves into the works of notable modern Chinese creatives including Zhu Jinshi, Yan Lei, Ma Shuqing and Tan Ping.The Art Accent, aimed at promoting young promising artists, spotlights the collaboration between Korean ultra-contemporary creatives and their 슬롯게이밍 counterparts from London’s Royal College of Art.