[Art Busan 2022] GRAY sees growing interest in contemporary works from Korean collectors

Valerie Carberry, gallery principal of GRAY (courtesy of the gallery)

GRAY, a US gallery based in Chicago and New York, was one of the most popular galleries at Art Busan 2022, with visitors stopping by its booth to take a selfie in front of David Hockney’s 8.7-meter-long photographic drawing and view Pablo Picasso‘s “Tete d‘homme et nu assis.”

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to exhibit at Art Busan in person. The last art fair we did in person in Asia was Art Basel Hong Kong in 2019, and it is great to be back in the region,” said Valerie Carberry, gallery principal of Gray, in an email interview with The Korea Herald.

Founded in 1963 in Chicago, the art fair was the gallery’s first event in Korea. While the gallery does not have a plan to open in Korea at the moment, it is keeping an eye on the Korean art market. 

Visitors to Art Busan 2022 view David Hockney’s photographic drawing “Pictures at an Exhibition” on Friday at the GRAY's booth at Art Busan in Busan. (Park Yuna/The Korea Herald)

“We have been doing business with collectors from Korea for many years. At first, the interest by collectors was primarily in important Modern and Postwar art. We now see increasing support for contemporary works by artists of international stature,” she said.

“While the strength of the collecting community here is firmly established, the potential for growth is what is exciting to contemplate, as more and more collectors expand into new territories,” she added.

The painting “Tete d‘homme et nu assis” by Picasso was on display with a price tag of around 5 billion won ($4.1 million), making it one of the most expensive works at the fair. Along with Hockney and Picasso, the gallery brought works by renowned artists such as Alex Katz, Jaume Plensa and Jim Dine.

“We are very proud to introduce to collectors at the fair the work of Theaster Gates and McArthur Binion, both artists who have studios in Chicago but exhibit in museums and galleries worldwide,” the gallerist said.

For the upcoming Freize Seoul, the first art fair to be held in an Asian city by Frieze, in early September, Carberry said it she has no doubt it will be a success.

“There is tremendous energy around the upcoming fair. Frieze always produces great shows with an exciting mix of galleries,” she said.

Art Busan 2022 was held from Thursday to Sunday at the Bexco Exhibition Center in Busan. Art Busan is the second largest art fair in the country, after Kiaf SEOUL, which will run concurrently with Freize Seoul starting this year for five years.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)

By Park Yuna(yunapark@heraldcorp.com)