First established in 1989, Arario Gallery is dedicated to promoting Korean contemporary art abroad and introducing new and compelling international artworks to Korea and China through its exhibition spaces in Cheonan, Seoul, and Shanghai.
Read MoreArario Gallery represents some of the most significant Korean contemporary artists working today, among them Kim Byoungho, whose sonic and metallic installations offer immersive encounters with art; Kim Kulim, a foundational Korean avantgarde artist who worked with happenings, installation, mail art, experimental film, and land art in the 1960s, when the media were still new in Korea; and Huh Myoungwook, known for his use of lacquer in lieu of paint as a means of exploring temporality.
Between 2005 and 2012, Arario Gallery exhibited the work of artists from China, India, and Southeast Asia in its former location in Beijing. This drive for representing diversity has continued. On the gallery roster from China are artists such as Gao Lei, who often strips everyday objects of their functional properties to engage with the ideas of transformation and alienation in his paintings, photography, and installations; and Yan Heng, noted for his paintings that draw from personal experiences.
Arario Gallery also represents leading Japanese contemporary artists, such as Keiji Uematsu, who was a principal figure in the post-War Japanese art movement Mono-ha, with works in diverse media that explore the relationship between body and object; and Kohei Nawa, who famously covered his sculptures depicting animals and toys in glass bead cells in his pursuit of merging traditional sensibilities and contemporary technology. From India and Southeast Asia are Subodh Gupta, who incorporates found objects into sculptures and installations as a means of examining the rapid transformation of India; Nalini Malani, a pre-eminent Indian contemporary artist whose videos, paintings, and installation works address as wide-ranging topics as war, nationalism, and female empowerment; and Manila-born artist Leslie de Chavez, known for his figurative paintings and installations that similarly address the themes of history, imperialism, and religion in his homeland, among other locales.
In the early 2000s, Arario Gallery gained a reputation for organising then-rare solo exhibitions of international artists such as Keith Haring and Sigmar Polke in Korea. Group shows of note include Between the Lines: Korean Contemporary Art Since 1970 at its location in Cheonan in 2014, and Artists from Leipzig at its former address in Beijing in 2005.
The gallery participates in art fairs both based in Korea and abroad, including Art Busan; KIAF ART SEOUL; ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair; Art Basel in Hong Kong; ART STAGE Singapore; Frieze New York; and West Bund Art & Design, Shanghai.
