Alongside hundreds of galleries exhibiting at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center at either Frieze Seoul (Sep 4–7) or KIAF Seoul (Sep 4–8) (or both) the three major gallery districts of the Korean capital (Samchung, Itaewon-Hannam, and Chungdam) will be thronged with contemporary art and its followers. During a packed week of art events in early September, here are highlights of the gallery exhibitions to check out.

Aug 21–Sep 21
Hwang Sueyon: Pastel, Bullet, Beautiful Fingers
G Gallery

Hwang Sueyon’s solo exhibition at G Gallery spotlights her paper-based series Small and Sharp (2020– ). Known for transforming and reinterpreting materials, Hwang aggregates paper fragments coated with graphite and metallic sheen into various forms that resemble common sharp tools, such as kitchen utensils, household paraphernalia, surgical scalpels, and writing instruments. Hwang then densely layers and attaches the paper fragments to individual works that, at G Gallery, will be housed in a tin-sheathed house. In doing so, Hwang pays tribute to the suffering and sacrifice of everyday life, and the angst and awe that follow.

Aug 21–Oct 10
Yoo Youngkuk: Stand on the Golden Mean
PKM

Yoo Youngkuk’s “Stand on the Golden Mean” features 34 oil paintings, made from the 1950–80s, along with previously unseen works. As a pioneer of abstract painting in Korea, Yoo’s aesthetic choices in shape, technique, and color reflect an ancient virtue of perfect balance, or the “golden mean.” His paintings often feature natural subjects, reflecting this concept of ideal harmony which can be achieved through discipline and moderation.

Aug 24–Sep 22
Jongwan Jang and Saelia Aparicio: Alice, Still in Wonderland
Cylinder

At Cylinder, the exhibition “Alice, Still in Wonderland” jointly presents the works of Seoul-based artist Jongwan Jang and Spanish artist Saelia Aparicio. Curated by the gallery’s founder Dooyong Ro, the show focuses on environmental anxieties through fantastical paintings and drawings of humanoid bees and plants.

Aug 24–Oct 5
Minouk Lim: Memento Moiré
BB&M

Minouk Lim’s “Memento Moiré” marks her first gallery show in the artist’s native Korea since 2011. Exhibiting new wall-hanging works that examine history, memory, and myths, Lim continues her provocative fusion of the poetic and political through an increasingly abstract and spiritual lens. For these works the artist delves into unique mediums and materials— combining everything from cuttlefish bones, to urethane, to terra cotta powder—in order to present what she has dubbed “an archeology of the future.” 

Aug 28–Oct 11
Keem Jiyoung: With Night’s Nape Between Our Jaws
P21

Painter Keem Jiyoung is a chronicler of Korea’s social disasters and recurring bouts of violence and tragedy. In her latest series of acrylic and oil pastel works, Wrath, Tidal (2024), she mixes text fragments with dynamic depictions of waves, inspired by German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s “photo-montage” technique devised to critique the media and elicit hidden truths. 

Aug 28–Oct 19
Nari Ward: ongoin’
Lehmann Maupin

New York-based artist Nari Ward returns to Seoul for “ongoin’” at Lehmann Maupin, unveiling new copper panel works, sculptures, and wall-based installations that address care and healing within local communities. With a particular focus on Harlem, the Jamaican-born artist confronts sociopolitical issues in the United States, offering a space to mend our spiritual connection to materials and one another.

Aug 28–Oct 20
John Pai: Shared Destinies
Gallery Hyundai

Korean-American sculptor John Pai presents his first solo exhibition in Korea in over a decade at Gallery Hyundai. “Shared Destinies” gathers around 40 works that map Pai’s extensive career, dating back to the artist’s early Constructivism-inspired steel sculptures from the 1960s. Comprising works such as welded steel sculptures, drawings, and paintings, Pai’s oeuvre is informed by his perception of movement within space. His deep interest in music, athletics, ballet, and modern dance fuels his intuition to create works that toe the line between organic and human-made forms.

Aug 31–Oct 26
Tomasz Kręcicki: Gentle Spin
Esther Schipper

Polish artist Tomasz Kręcicki’s “Gentle Spin” presents a new body of work comprising paintings that evoke a multipart story speaking to both personal concerns and broader social issues. With an oeuvre primarily consisting of oil-on-canvas paintings, Kręcicki highlights domestic scenes that engage viewers’ auditory senses, from the fizz of a dissolving tablet to the crack of an egg against metal as one prepares their breakfast.

Aug 30–Oct 19
Jason Boyd Kinsella: Ghost in the Machine
Perrotin

Oslo- and Los Angeles-based artist Jason Boyd Kinsella explores the formation of psychological portraits rooted in mind-body dualism, drawing inspiration from the popular Myers-Briggs test. By blending analog and digital techniques in an ongoing process of forming a “genuine connection” with his subjects, Boyd captures the complexities of the human mind and psychology. This “ghost in the machine” ultimately emerges within his paintings, video work, and etchings on black canvas.

Aug 30–Nov 3
Kyungah Ham: Phantom and a Map
Michael Joo: Soft Skills and Underground Whispers
Kukje Gallery 
Kukje Gallery showcases two concurrent solo exhibitions of established Korean artist Kyungah Ham and Korean American sculptor Michael Joo. Ham is best known for her embroidered canvases created in collaboration with anonymous North Korean artisans, who convert the artist’s coded instructions into intricate embroideries that meditate on the legacies of war. Based in the US, Joo is an artist that examines the ways in which we perceive the material world. His conceptual works implement a variety of techniques such as sculpture, painting, photography, and printmaking to blur the boundaries between art and science.   

Aug 31–Dec 21
Alex Foxton: Sebastian
VSF

At VSF, British-born artist Alex Folton presents boldly colored paintings that explore the ambiguous archetypes of masculinity. Referencing the Christian martyr Saint Sebastian (classically depicted as tied to a tree and pierced with arrows), his works blend religious and queer imagery, depicting male figures with tenderness and terror. Imbued with personal narratives, the exhibition considers suffering as a pleasurable path toward redemption.

Sep 1–Oct 13
Honggoo Kang: Cloud, Sea, Island
One and J.

As an extension of his earlier solo show “The Sea of Shinan - Mud, Sand and Wind” at One and J.  in 2022, Korean artist Honggoo Kang presents drawings that form an “inevitable” extension of his hometown of Shinan. Situated at the southwestern-most tip of Korea, Shinan comprises more than 700 uninhabited islands and is considered a regional paradise.

Sep 3–Oct 12
Derrick Adams: The Strip
Gagosian

For his debut exhibition in Korea, “The Strip,” American artist Derrick Adams presents a new series of paintings at Gagosian’s new space in the cosmetic brand Amorepacific’s David Chipperfield-designed headquarters. Inspired by beauty supply stores, Adams’s works depict abstract renditions of display windows, featuring mannequin heads with colorful wigs as an ode to the aesthetics and culture of Black women in the United States.

Sep 3–Oct 12
Inner Space
König

Celebrating the theme of interiority, König presents “Inner Spaces,” the gallery’s first exhibition at its new venue in Seoul’s lively Itaewon neighborhood. Featuring more than 50 paintings and mixed-media works by 25 artists, the diverse group show examines the physical interior of an architectural space, as well as symbolic interiors—namely, artists’ inner lives, which spur their imagination.

Sep 3–Nov 9
Sean Scully: Soul 
Georg Baselitz: adler barfuß
Thaddaeus Ropac

Thaddaeus Ropac presents two exhibitions, Irish painter Sean Scully’s “Soul” and German artist Georg Baselitz’s “adler barfuß,” at the Fort Hill building in Seoul. Scully showcases new paintings from his acclaimed Wall of Light (1980– ) and Landline (c. 1999–  ) series, reiterating his signature striped and blocked abstraction. Georg Baselitz presents a new series of paintings and ink drawings which revive the recurring aquiline motif echoed throughout his oeuvre. By utilizing spatulas instead of paintbrushes to convey a vigorous tactility, Baselitz renders eagles perched, and in flight, against azure backgrounds. 

Sep 3–Nov 3
Lawrence Abu Hamdan: Zifzafa 
Barakat Contemporary

Beirut-based artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan holds his first solo exhibition in Korea, debuting his new project Zifzafa (2024)—titled after an Arabic word that describes the sound of a wind that causes everything in its path to rattle and shake. A self-proclaimed “private ear,” Abu Hamdan predominantly features sound in his work. In this exhibition, he explores the history and geopolitics associated with the Golan Heights, including the Israeli government’s plans to construct dozens of wind turbines in the region.

Sep 4–Oct 26
Wang Guangle
Correspondence: Lee Ufan and Mark Rothko
Pace

Wang Guangle, the Chinese artist known for his process-based paintings, unveils his first solo exhibition in Korea at Pace. Wang presents new paintings as well as those from his Untitled and Coffin Paint series, in a site-specific space constructed within the gallery that sheds light on his time-informed abstraction. Concurrently, Pace showcases a two-floor exhibition featuring Korean artist Lee Ufan’s Dialogue and Response series, created from 2018 to 2023, alongside significant abstract works by American painter Mark Rothko (1903–1970) from the 1950s and 1960s. 

Sep 4–Dec 14
Gabriel Orozco
White Cube

For Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco, circles and color sequences act as a bridge between geometry and organic material. His eponymous show at White Cube explores a phenomenon of structures, presenting paintings and works on paper inspired by Japanese and Chinese techniques. Both playful and philosophical, the recurrent shapes and grids come alive while maintaining their sense of order.

Sep 5–Oct 12
Joan Jonas: the Wind sings
Gladstone

Widely considered a pioneer of video and performance art, American visual artist Joan Jonas presents one of her first performance works, Wind, made in 1968. In this silent black-and-white film, figures clad in winter clothes move along with, and against, abrasive winds. The iconic Minimalist film recalled the early days of cinema and set the stage for Jonas’s impressive, 50-decade-long career.  

More Shows to See

Jul 30–Oct 12
Suyeon Kim: W C R S
Gallery 2

Aug 14–Sep 14
Doki Kim: The Apple and The Moon
Gallery Baton

Aug 30–Sep 15
Open Hands
Gallery Hyundai x Commonwealth and Council

Sep 3–Oct 19
Transposition 1: Observing the Walking Patterns
Whistle

Sep 3–Oct 5
Oum Jeongsoon, Ding Yi, Shiota Chiharu: I Thought I Lost It!
Hakgojae

Sep 4–Oct 12
Subodh Gupta: Inner Garden
Lee Dongwook: Red and Shiny
Arario

Sep 4–Oct 27
Anton Munar: Malas Hierbas
Peres Project Seoul

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