Art Busan 2022 opens to the public Friday

BUSAN – Art Busan 2022, one of Korea's leading art fairs, kicked off on Thursday following some turmoil. On Thursday, the event was reserved for press and VIP art collectors only, before opening to the general public on Friday. It will run through..

Art Busan 2022 kicked off on Thursday for press and VIP art collectors at Bexco in Haeundae District, Busan. [YONHAP]

BUSAN – Art Busan 2022, one of Korea’s leading art fairs, kicked off on Thursday following some turmoil.

On Thursday, the event was reserved for press and VIP art collectors only, before opening to the general public on Friday. It will run through Sunday at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (Bexco) in Haeundae District, Busan.

Last Saturday, Art Busan said in a statement that it had decided to cut ties with its director, Byun Won-kyung, who had been director for the fair since December 2020.

“After confirming that Byun had conducted various business, key officials, including the event organizing committee and operating committee, had an urgent meeting during which Art Busan decided it would be difficult to continue relations with Byun,” Art Busan said in a statement. “From this point on, we inform that all of Byun’s contracts with Art Busan and [its organizer] Artshow Busan Association have immediately been terminated.”

The statement did not disclose the specific reasons for firing Byun, nor what sort of “business” he was involved in.

A Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) painting, “Purple Range” (1966), was expected to be on view on Thursday but failed to show up due to “shipping problems.” It remains “unclear when it will arrive,” according to American gallery Gray.

“Tête d'homme et nu assis” (1964) by Pablo Picasso [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Instead, on display at Gray’s booth is 84-year-old British artist David Hockney’s large-scale painting “Pictures at an Exhibition” (2018) and Pablo Picasso’s (1881-1973) oil painting “Tête d'homme et nu assis” (1964).

Although it is one of Picasso’s lesser-known pieces, it is estimated to be worth 5 billion won or $3.9 million, Art Busan said.

“Abstraktes Bild (551-6)” (1984) by 90-year-old German artist Gerhard Richter is another one of Art Busan’s most expensive pieces at a whopping 4 billion won.

“Abstraktes Bild (551-6)” (1984) by Gerhard Richter [ART BUSAN]

This year, a total of 133 galleries from 21 countries are participating in the fair. Among them are 101 local galleries, including the major ones — Kukje, Hakgojae, Hyundai, PKM and Gana. Some of the international galleries include the renowned Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac from London, Two Palms from New York and Whitestone Gallery from Tokyo.

For more information about the 11th edition of Art Busan, visit the website.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]