Kukje Gallery is pleased to announce its participation as the sole Korean gallery in the second edition of Paris+ par Art Basel (hereafter Paris+), from 18 to 22 October 2023, at the Grand Palais Éphémère. The event has been organised in collaboration with a diverse array of cultural institutions across the city and beyond, and will feature engaging programs accessible to the public, enriching the art and cultural landscape of Paris.
This year, 154 galleries from 33 countries will participate including 138 returning galleries that were part of the inaugural Paris+ in 2022. Welcoming collectors, art enthusiasts, and art professionals, the fair will be organised around a series of curated sectors including Galeries, Galeries Émergentes, and Conversations. Galeries Émergentes will showcase solo presentations by 14 emerging galleries from around the world, addressing topical contemporary issues such as gender, ecology and digitally manipulated images. As the official sponsor of Galeries Émergentes, the Galeries Lafayette group will nominate an artist from these presentations and host an exhibition the following year. A curator and writer duo Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou will once again lead the Conversations sector, facilitating a series of discussions where prominent art and cultural figures will engage in diverse dialogue, with all sessions free and open to the public.
In the Galeries sector, Kukje Gallery will showcase a wide range of works by renowned Korean and international artists. Curated selection by Korean artists will include Park Seo-Bo's reinterpretation of his signature Écriture series in ceramic form, titled Écriture (描法) No. 230214 (2023). Unveiled to the public last year, this new series demonstrates the artist's inspiration drawn from nature through the materiality of 'clay,' a core element in ceramics. Last weekend, the art world was met with the somber news of Park Seo-Bo's passing on 14 October 2023. Park, an unparalleled figure in the history of Korean contemporary art, introduced abstract art to a culturally conservative landscape of the 1950s and has tirelessly pushed the boundaries of art with his unique expressive language for over six decades. Kukje Gallery is deeply honoured to share his enduring artistic legacy with the world.
The selection also includes Lee Ufan's From Point No. 770101 (1977), a work that belongs to the artist's From Point series, which is completed through the repetitive act of drawing a 'point' on the canvas. For Lee, the act of repetition symbolises a process of meditation. The booth will also introduce Ha Chong-Hyun's recent work Conjunction 23-27 (2023), which employs his unique technique of bae-ap-bub, a method of pushing paint from the back to the front of the hemp cloth. Ha, a pioneer of Korean avant-garde and a central figure in Dansaekhwa painting, has gained acclaim at home and abroad following last year's successful large-scale solo exhibition that opened as an official collateral event of the 59th Venice Biennale, and his recent exhibition of early works including his White Paper on Urban Planning series in Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-70s at the Guggenheim Museum in New York—an exhibition that travelled from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul.
Also on view will be Untitled (1986) by the Dansaekwha artist Kwon Young-Woo, an aesthetic pioneer who has reinvented the use of traditional Korean paper, referred to as hanji, by layering and puncturing the picture plane and allowing pigments to drip and spread through the tears, and Untitled (Year unknown) by Wook-kyung Choi which exhibits vibrant colours and bold brushstrokes. Choi is currently featured in the group exhibition Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction (1940–70) at Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles, France, through 22 October 2023. Furthermore, the booth will present Nucleus 78-5 (1978) by Lee Seung Jio, a prominent figure widely recognised for leading geometric abstraction in Korea. The artist, known for his 'Nucleus' series characterised by cool colours and repeated pipe-motifs that create contrasting compositions, is currently participating in a two-person exhibition with post-war avant-garde Italian painter Agostino Bonalumi from 11 October to 30 November 2023. The selection will also include various works by Korean contemporary artists, including Where You Stand E-2 (2022) by Kibong Rhee, who creates compelling spatial representations of natural elements by overlaying plexiglass or polyester fibre on canvas, intensifying the captivating essence of the mystical scenes that often feature water, fog, and trees. Moreover, the booth will introduce a recent work by Haegue Yang, a contemporary artist who divides her time between Berlin and Seoul, titled Sonic Rotating Identical Circular Twins – Iridescent and Silver #36 (2023). The artist is currently presenting solo exhibitions at the Smart Museum of Art (University of Chicago), the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, participating in the aranya plein air art project in Jin Shan Ling, China, and has recently unveiled a newly commissioned work by the National Sculpture Factory in Cork, Ireland. Yang is also scheduled for a showcase of her work The Malady of Death at the 10th Performa Biennial in New York and a solo exhibition at the Helsinki Art Museum in Finland. Suki Seokyeong Kang, who is currently the subject of a large-scale solo exhibition Suki Seokyeong Kang: Willow Drum Oriole at the Leeum Museum of Art, will feature her GRANDMOTHER TOWER – tow #22-02 (2022). Framing the artist's relationship with her beloved grandmother who is nearing the end of her life, the work portrays a fragile yet resilient figure, seemingly on the verge of collapse yet maintaining balance, which resonates with the challenges we face and shows how, even in difficulty, we build and rely on relationships that sustain our lives.
The booth will also showcase key works by international artists currently holding solo exhibitions or anticipating upcoming exhibitions worldwide. This includes the gouache work Yellow Flower, Red Blossoms (1974) by Alexander Calder, a significant figure in 20th-century art, whose recent solo exhibition at Kukje Gallery concluded successfully in May. Also featured will be a distinctive disc-shaped work Spanish and Pagan Gold satin (2020) by Indian-born British sculptor Anish Kapoor Earlier this year, Kapoor revealed his inaugural permanent installation in New York at the entrance of Jenga Tower (56 Leonard Street), designed by Herzog & de Meuron. Additional selections include the sculpture The Journey, Fig. 1 (2022) by the Berlin-based artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset. Known for their humorous and philosophical approach across various media such as sculpture, performance, design, architecture, and theatre, their creative world can also be explored in their solo exhibition Bonne Chance at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, France. Lastly, Australian artist Daniel Boyd's diptych Untitled (AITSS) (2022), fully embodying his artistic approach of recreating the 'lens' through convex and transparent dots, will offer a unique reinterpretation of history and how we see the world. The artist's solo exhibition RAINBOW SERPENT (VERSION) is currently taking place at the Institute of Modern Art (IMA) in Brisbane, Australia, where viewers can also meet 15 new paintings, sculptures, and floor installations.
Meanwhile, Kukje Gallery is holding a major solo exhibition by Anish Kapoor across all three spaces (K1, K2, K3) through 22 October 2023. In this exhibition held in Korea after seven years of hiatus, the artist presents four large-scale sculptures along with powerful paintings and a series of drawings in gouache.
Additionally, Kukje Gallery Busan is holding Wook-kyung Choi's solo exhibition A Stranger to Strangers through 22 October 2023. With her abstract expressionist paintings that have emerged from an independent path and bold experimental spirit, Choi has made a significant mark on the history of Korean contemporary art. This exhibition showcases 26 black and white paper works and 8 croquis, marking the artist's first solo exhibition in Busan.
VIP days (by invitation only):
Wednesday, October 18, 10am to 4pm,
First Choice VIP Cardholders
Wednesday, October 18, 4pm to 8pm,
First Choice & Preview VIP Cardholders
Thursday, October 19, 11am to 4pm,
First Choice, Preview & One Day VIP Cardholders
Vernissage day (access with a Vernissage ticket or invitation)
Thursday, October 19, 4pm to 8pm,
Vernissage Cardholders
Public days:
Friday, October 20, 11am to 9pm
Saturday, October 21, 11am to 8pm
Sunday, October 22, 11am to 7pm
Grand Palais Éphémère
2 place Joffre
75007, Paris