[“Bigfoot's Flower Shop” by Ahn Jeongmo, J&Art Platform: Photo by Kyujin Joung]

Hotel Art Fair “The Grand International Art Fair 2023 (The GIAF)” was held at Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, central Seoul from June 20 to July 2.

The Art Fair is an event where several galleries gather to display and sell art works.

300 artists from 68 galleries both domestic and foreign participated  in this South Korea’s Hotel Art Fair.

A collection of 1,800 art pieces by renowned and emerging artists was  exhibited and 67 rooms at the hotel were used for this art fair. 

This was the first time in eight years that an art fair was held at the hotel.  

It was co-hosted by the Herald Media Group to commemorate the Korea Herald’s 70th anniversary, and the collaboration was expected to turn the event into the largest hotel art fair in East Asia. 

Galleries joining the fair included the works of masters of Korean art history, representing  Korea’s domestic art scene through contemporary blue chip artists such as Park Seo-Bo, Lee Bae, and Lee Ufan. 

Various art works by popular overseas artists such as American artist Alex Katz, Swiss-born artist Ugo Rondinone, and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami were also exhibited.

The GIAF 2023 focused on modern and contemporary artists works from both home and abroad.

Due to the architectural restrictions of the hotel space, more small and medium sized art works were displayed than large-scale works.

As they were displayed at the hotel, they featured the latest trends in art with both sophistication and dignity. 

Among the various art events, the Biennale took the spotlight in the 1990s. while the Art Fair showed more impact and popularity in the 2000s.

Unlike the Biennale, which features experimental and non-commercial art works, the Art Fair displays works for sale. 

Last year, the domestic art market achieved 1.377 trillion KRW in art distribution for the first time in history, despite the effects of COVID-19 and global economic contractions, up 37.2% from 756.3 billion won in 2021.

Among the art fair, gallery, and auction sectors, the biggest increase was seen in the art fair, with sales growing 59.8% from 188.9 billion won in 2021 to 302 billion won in 2022. (Notification by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)

This growth is interpreted to be deeply related to the 13.1% increase in the number of art fair visitors from 774,000 in 2021 to 875,000 in 2022.

As such, the art fair is becoming a key event in the art world.