Frieze Seoul 2023: 7 Directors Introduce Their Booths

Ahead of Frieze Seoul (6–9 September 2023), seven galleries share highlights of their presentations: STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery, Château Shatto, SCAI The Bathhouse, Johyun Gallery, Jessica Silverman, Hauser & Wirth, and Hakgojae Gallery.

1. Emi Eu, Executive Director at STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery, Singapore

Do Ho Suh and Rirkrit Tiravanija have done multiple residencies with our Creative Workshop to explore works beyond their artistic boundaries, while Ryan Gander and Hyun-Mi Yoo have signature bodies of work that the artistic rigour of our programme enabled them to find new expression for.

We have selected Korean artist Hyun-Mi Yoo to headline our presentation as a show of confidence in her deep years of practice within the Korean art scene, and the rebirth of her 'Blank Puzzle' series through the STPI Creative Workshop.

From her short stories to her art objects, Yoo continuously draws out realms within the human psyche that speak to universally relatable experiences.

Drawn from a short story written by the artist close to 25 years ago, Red Flying Carpet (2023) tells the story of a blank puzzle, void of colours, that sought to find its bigger picture and purpose. Owing to its blank state, the puzzle was frustrated at not being able to fit in with other pieces. After a series of unfortunate events, it eventually became an artist's muse and finally embraced its beauty and value as it is—a pristine canvas for ideas to take shape.

2. Harrison Glazier, Director at Château Shatto, Los Angeles

Frieze Seoul is the first occasion we are presenting oil paintings by Alan Lynch, in addition to work by gallery artists Van Hanos, Olivia Van Kuiken, and Jonny Negron. Given Lynch's work has been dormant for many decades, it felt timely to speak more closely about this work.

Devotional and philosophical systems were the wellspring of Lynch's art practice—his study of Raku ware and practice of Sōtō Zen Buddhism very much pre-empted his art-making and would inform his pursuit of painting in the second half of the 1950s.

Rather than approaching painting via the more procedural methods of his peers, Lynch sought to employ the medium as an extension of the philosophical systems and processes that animated his thinking. The paintings we are presenting in Seoul—each dated 1960—exemplify how Lynch distilled the suprasensuous in both spirit and form.

Paired with these early oil paintings are watercolours Lynch realised after he withdrew from public exhibiting practices. These works were approached methodically and occupied the centre of Lynch's artistic output after 1973. He would continue to refine this format for over two decades with preternatural rigour and clarity, rendered in private and never previously exhibited.

3. Masami Shiraishi, Director at SCAI The Bathhouse, Tokyo

How does art bring value to our lives in times of turmoil where calamities such as pandemics and wars pose powerful threats? Addressing this proposition, the gallery is presenting work that proposes viewpoints of its representing artists.

Booth highlights include the latest works of contemporary Korean artist unit Kyungwon Moon and Joonho Jeon, whose solo exhibition Seoul Weather Station at Art Sonje Center in 2022 garnered critical acclaim.

Moon in the Ground no.5 (2015) by Tatsuo Miyajima reflects the surrounding environment on its mirrored surface interspersed with LED digital counters marking time's passage. The work recalls phases of the moon and twinkling stars as well as the cycle of nature.

While Ether#90 (2023), a silver fountain-shaped sculpture by Kohei Nawa invites us to the microscopic world by revealing the physical properties of liquid, his painting Dune#63 (2023) evokes a contrasting bird's-eye view of Earth.

4. Min-Young Joo, Director at Johyun Gallery, Busan

Johyun Gallery is presenting yet-to-be-seen works by major names in Korean contemporary art, not limited to Park Seo-Bo, Kim Chong Hak, Kim Hong Joo, Lee Bae, Jin Meyerson, and Jongsuk Yoon.

For the first time, too, we are showing Mexican artist Bosco Sodi's two-dimensional works and Japanese Mono-ha artist Kishio Suga's sculptural works. These artists have worked with new mediums and developed distinct languages. We hope to highlight their trajectories in our booth.

Two highlights are Park Seo-Bo's Écriture No. 030114 (2003), painted in white on hanji, that contrasts with his recent Écriture works on view at our Busan gallery, and a new untitled painting by Kim Chong Hak. Known as the 'Painter of the Four Seasons', Kim focuses on intuitive expression and colour in Untitled (2023), painting both the stillness of winter and vibrancy of summer against a white backdrop.

5. Jessica Silverman, Founder of Jessica Silverman, San Francisco

We are thrilled to present a solo exhibition of new ceramic, bronze, and wood sculptures as well as new oil paintings by Miami-born artist of Haitian descent, Woody De Othello. His sculptures imbue familiar forms with surreal, anthropomorphic qualities to explore home as a space where time and personal history are anchored.

On view is the first edition of his bronze sculpture the healers gathered around (2023), a coffee table with two pairs of legs, seated ritualistically. On top of the bronze rests an exquisitely glazed ceramic head besieged by three hands, which suggests the figure is deep in thought.

Among the booth's six freestanding ceramic sculptures is the diviner pointed at me (2023), in which Othello continues his investigation of the body and the magic of the natural world with a masked rabbit perched atop a leafy ceramic base next to a large top hat. The character and artist himself demonstrate a flair of humour and mischief.

On the walls, viewers will see a series of four undulating ceramic wall works that reinterpret the form of traditional clocks. Combining nostalgia with surrealism, they consider ideas of time and how memories are shaped.

6. Sara Chun, Director at Hauser & Wirth, New York

This year, we brought together an astounding group of contemporary and historical works by leading gallery artists, including Rita Ackermann, Louise Bourgeois, George Condo, Paul McCarthy, Philip Guston, Jenny Holzer, and Roni Horn, among others.

The presentation also reflects the latest activities in the gallery programme, with a focus on artists who recently joined the gallery: Catherine Goodman, Camille Henrot, the Estate of Cathy Josefowitz, Allison Katz, Harmony Korine, Angel Otero, and Daniel Turner.

Modern highlights from this year's booth include Guston's Combat I (1978). Exemplifying his late figurative style, the painting portrays a cluster of extended arms, horseshoes, and shoe soles bursting from the edge of the canvas. The ambiguous iconography at once evokes the makeshift armament of childhood street fights and real-world conflict.

Accordingly, Combat I resonates with such historical and contemporary events as the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, and the violence and social unrest of the late 1960s, allowing viewers to discern the emotional weight and turmoil experienced during this period.

7. Chankyu Woo, President, Hakgojae Gallery

We are showing works by Korean first-generation abstract painters who played pivotal roles in the development of Abstract painting in Korea, including Haindoo (1930–1989), Ryu Kyung Chai (1920–1995), Lee Joon (1919–2021), and Rhee Sang-Wooc (1923–1988).

Of particular note are Haindoo's Mandara (1974) and Dense Door (1978), which are translations of Buddhist principles in abstraction and colour field paintings, and Ryu Kyung Chai's oil on canvas Celebration 91-4 (1991) and Heart's Desire 92-6 (1992) that capture images of the mind on canvas.

We are also pleased to show paintings by Lee Joon, who expressed the beautiful seascapes of Korea's south in warm, lyrical geometric abstractions. It's rare to find that kind of warmth in other geometric abstract paintings. —[O]