Art shows this week

Established by multimillionaire gallerist Kim Chang-il, Arario Gallery first opened its doors in Cheonan in 2012 before moving to its current place in Sogyeok-dong, Seoul. Making The ARTnews "200 Top Collectors" list for 7 years now, the internationally respected gallery boasts three-stories of exhibition space. At times, the basement and the upper levels are separated to showcase two exhibitions with unrelated curatorial goals. Although the gallery’s main interest lies in contemporary art, it branches off to support domestic as well as international artists in their early to mid-careers.

World-famous boy band Big Bang member T.O.P. spends ninety-five percent of his earnings on collecting art, while member Taeyang recently purchased the most expensive piece from artist Nam June Paik’s collection. For most of us, however, purchasing expensive artwork is a luxury we cannot afford. We can, however, observe renowned sculptures for free at the Trinity Garden, located on the sixth floor of Shinsegae Myeongdong.  The works exhibited in the Trinity Garden include both pop art and classical sculptures by famed artists Jeff Koons (‘Balloon Dog’), Alexander Calder (‘Le Cepe’), Henry Moore (‘Reclining Figure’) and Louise Bourgeois (‘Eye Bench’). Set in the heart of Seoul, you can also enjoy the great view of the original Korean Bank and Namsan Tower from the garden.

Dutch stamp dealer, William van der Bijl, visited North Korea 24 times starting in 1998 in his search for propaganda posters and stamps. Last year, these rare stamps and posters were exhibited at the Seoul Museum of Art as part of their “NK Project.” William explained: “I am interested in any kind of art. North Korean political art, as well as their stamps, are drawn in a simplistic way: A person does not need to know much about art in order to understand ‘the message’ in their drawings. All the people look always happy and [there’s] always a big smile on their faces.” On a trip to North Korea in 2013, he was arrested and imprisoned for two weeks. Since then, William has been unable to return to North Korea—leaving behind friends and his stamp trading post. “I was never able to speak to any of [my friends] and [it] makes me very sad. I have a great desire to go there and meet them again, but this will be impossible in the current situation.”

Andy Warhol supposedly just copies images and Ham Kyung-ah doesn't touch her art at all. Nam Hwa-yeon works with the vaguest concept of all: time. Who even physically interacts with their artwork anymore? There's the best of names you already know and there's art that invites you to participate as well. See what's going on at the best art exhibitions in Seoul.