Meet the Art World Power Players Shaping Frieze Seoul

Patrick Lee—Director, Frieze Seoul

How would you describe the mission of Frieze in a single sentence?

The mission of Frieze is to serve as a definitive platform for the discovery, inspiration, and discourse of contemporary art and culture.

What are some aspects of the Frieze Seoul programme that you are especially excited to present?

This year is all about introducing the participating galleries to an inquisitive community of collectors, curators, critics and art lovers based in Asia, as well as to serve as a platform for the global art world to encounter compelling art from the region. I am excited for our audience to see, interact with and experience the breadth of amazing artists, galleries, museums, non-profits and collections here, with special events like late-night gallery nights in specific areas of the city to bring together the community.

What would be your advice for someone coming to Frieze Seoul who hasn’t visited an art fair before?

Go with curiosity and allow your interest to be piqued. Frieze Seoul spans such a diverse array of art—from figures of historical renown in the Frieze Masters section, to contemporary names in the main section to emerging art practices in Focus Asia. The Frieze Viewing Room is a great online tool for making discoveries and deepening your knowledge of work at the fair. I would also take advantage of all of Frieze’s resources, including articles on the Frieze website, specially created Seoul-specific guides and events, and publications, like frieze magazine.

What was your motivation or inspiration for seeking a career

in the art world?

Long ago, I had two dreams: to write screenplays and to be the guitarist for Sade. It turned out I didn’t have the talent for screenplays, or guitar, but I realized that supporting people who had the creative talents I lacked—artists—was not just the next best thing: it was a special honour. Once I realized that, during college, I knew I wanted to be a gallerist.

Tell us about your career to date.

What have been some of the most significant moments for you?

After stints in finance and law, making the leap to becoming partner at Seoul’s One and J. Gallery in 2006 was a significant step for me. The gallery was focused on young Korean artists, and there were many unknowns at the time, but our approach and being principled with people worked out well, winning recognition like the Baloise Prize at Art Basel. I’m so grateful to my wife for allowing me to pursue this dream, especially with a little baby in tow (she gave me two years to make it work!). I later became executive director at Gallery Hyundai, also in Seoul, where I was proud to exhibit at fairs like Frieze, and to help get important experimental Korean artists into the permanent collections of significant global art institutions.

What’s the best thing about working in art?

Working with real creative talent and playing a role, however minor, in the support of these artists.

What would you do if you weren’t a gallerist or fair director?

If I couldn’t do either, I think I would lead a creative agency to link artists with companies in fields like film, music and design. I think there is a lot of convergence in all creative fields, and whatever helps a broader audience to appreciate, interact with and perhaps even live with art

is worthwhile.

If you could take one artwork from any museum collection in the world to live with, what would it be?

The exquisite, small Landscape with the Flight into Egypt (1563) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, found in the Courtauld Gallery in London, is a painting I just love. The landscape is extraordinary, with its detailed villages coupled with an expansive view into the horizon; it allows for contemplation and a sense of awe. In a way, the painting is like the Courtauld itself, one of my favourite museums in the world: while small, it’s full of inspiration. For now, I’m happy to make do with a post- card of this work. 

TAKA ISHII—Founder, Taka Ishii Gallery

Fair Location: A21 @takaishiigallery

How would you describe your gallery’s programme and approach in a single sentence?

Contemporary art, photography and postwar Japanese art.

What is one work/artist you are particularly excited to be showing

at the fair this year?

New paintings by Jadé Fadojutimi.

What are you most looking forward

to doing outside of the fair? 

Experiencing the architecture, furniture, design and everything else that is unique to Seoul.

If someone who had never acquired art before wanted to start collecting, what would be your advice to them?

Trust your own sense of aesthetic in selecting works, without being misled by the price or the artist’s name.

What was the entry point into your career in the art world?

Buying and selling works to galleries in Japan while I was a student in Los Angeles.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Being fortunate enough to work with and support artists who will go on to be part of art history.

What would you do if you weren’t a gallerist?

I’d be a stubborn café owner.

If you could take one artwork from any museum collection in the world to live with, what would it be?

Mark Rothko’s Sketch for ‘Mural No. 4’ (1958), currently in the collection of the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art in Sakura.

BORIS VERVOORDT—Director, Axel Vervoordt Gallery

Fair Location: M16 @axelvervoordt_co

How would you describe your gallery’s programme and approach in a single sentence?

Our gallery aims to offer a platform for artists who seek a creative mode of expression in their work that brings about positive change in the world.

What is one work/artist you are particularly excited to be showing at the fair this year?

A masterpiece by Ad Reinhardt from 1959, which is one of only three paintings of its size that’s not in a public collection. In many ways, Reinhardt is like a conceptual father figure to the artists we work with.

What are you most looking forward to doing outside of the fair?

Food, friends and art, of course! I am grateful for the opportunity to meet up with our friends in Seoul, who are so incomparably hospitable and gracious about sharing their way of life and cultural perspectives. We often talk about our views on art in institutions and private collections. Travelling is always about learning from each other.

If someone who had never acquired art before wanted to start collecting, what would be your advice to them?

To fall in love with something and to think about what you want to learn from art. Collecting art can be like holding up a mirror to your own being.

What was the entry point into your career in the art world?

My parents were antique dealers at the time I was born, so it was a world that I was exposed to from the outset. My earliest memories are of visiting artists, seeing the interiors of collectors’ homes, and joining my parents at art fairs; it was just a natural part of my existence. In many ways, I haven’t known anything different.

What’s the best thing about your job?

I believe that art can change the world, so the best thing about my job is keeping an eye on that evolution. If you want to work in this business, you must be open to change and constantly alert

to new visions.

What would you do if you weren’t a gallerist?

That’s a challenging question. Whatever it might be, I hope it would still allow me to be a collector.

If you could take one artwork from any museum collection in the world to live with, what would it be?

Rothko’s Seagram Murals (1958) at Tate Britain in London. To live with those works alongside a Reinhardt painting would be an absolute dream.

LOUISE HAYWARD—Senior Director, Lisson Gallery

Fair Location: A29

@lisson_gallery

How would you describe your gallery’s programme and approach in a single sentence?

Having spent more than 50 years introducing artists to different markets world- wide, Lisson Gallery presents the work of artists with distinctive voices, firmly rooted in multiple intersecting histories, but consistently forward-thinking.

What is one work/artist you are particularly excited to be showing at the fair this year?

We are showing an incredibly strong selection of works by some of the younger generation of artists in the gallery. Two of my personal highlights are new pieces by Hugh Hayden and Ryan Gander.

What are you most looking forward to doing outside of the fair?

I love Seoul and, pre-pandemic, I would visit a few times a year. I’m most looking forward to studio visits and endless Korean BBQ with friends!

If someone who had never acquired art before wanted to start collecting, what would be your advice to them?

I would recommend they experience art in person in different contexts: galleries, museums, art fairs and public projects. The key for all new collectors is to understand their own tastes and trust their instincts by guiding their own knowledge base. Collecting art is a love affair that takes place over a lifetime.

What was your motivation or inspiration for seeking a career in the art world?

I grew up in many different countries, with my family’s love of culture being a uniting factor across all locations. I always wanted to find a career which allowed me to be surrounded by artists and cultural thinkers.

What’s the best thing about your job?

I’ve been at Lisson for 13 years and have never had a predictable day! I love the creativity of my job; from conversations with artists about new works, to devising museum shows with curators, to mapping out the business strategy for the year ahead, to travelling the world, to placing great art in great homes—there’s never a dull moment!

What would you do if you weren’t a gallerist?

I would be a neuroscientist. In my next life, I will find a new path for the treatment of childhood epilepsy.

If you could take one artwork from any museum collection in the world to live with, what would it be?

I would take myself to the artwork and live in Lee Ufan’s museum in Naoshima.

TINA KIM—Founder, Tina Kim Gallery Fair Location: B7

@tinakimgallery

How would you describe your gallery’s programme and approach in a single sentence?

Our gallery has a strong reputation for rediscovering historically significant artists and helping realize ambitious exhibitions and productions, including important artist publications, through a scholarly approach.

What is one work/artist you are particularly excited to be showing at the fair this year?

I am particularly excited to be showing works by Pacita Abad, an artist whose estate I have just started representing, who captured history while travelling around the world during the 1960s and ’70s. Her work, with its concern for social and political imbalance, resonates with issues we face today, including refugees and immigration. Her first major US retrospective will take place at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis next year.

What are you most looking forward to doing outside of the fair?

I am looking forward to visiting many museums and artists’ studios while in Seoul. But, of course, I also have a soft spot for the city’s great food, shopping and spa experiences.

If someone who had never acquired art before wanted to start collecting, what would be your advice to them?

I would advise them to visit art fairs and museums to see as much art as possible to develop their own taste.

What was the entry point into your career in the art world?

I was brought up in a family that runs an art gallery, so I was naturally immersed; I enjoyed working with artists and helping them realize their projects.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Travelling to exciting places and meeting great people.

What would you do if you weren’t a gallerist?

If I weren’t a gallerist, I would either be an art collector or a world traveller.

If you could take one artwork from any museum collection in the world to live with, what would it be?

I would take a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat. I think it would look great in my house.

MATTHEW WOOD—Founding Partner, Mendes Wood DM Fair Location: B3 @mendeswooddm

How would you describe your gallery’s programme and approach in a single sentence?

The programme is based on discovery and gives pride of place to the aesthetic, ecological and political questions of our time.

What is one work/artist you are particularly excited to be showing at the fair this year?

We’re presenting a remarkable installation by the Brazilian artist Paulo Monteiro, who has been working since the late 1970s. His ludic sculpture is interpolated with paintings in an almost freestyle, jazzy riff. The paintings are minimal and bright; the sculptures are intimate and gentle.

What are you most looking forward to doing outside of the fair?

Eating everything kindly put in front of me.

If someone who had never acquired art before wanted to start collecting, what would be your advice to them?

In my own life, I tend to place passion first. For those who foreground reason, however, I would suggest they begin a collection with rational passion. Love something and then learn about it and, if both make sense, buy it.

What was your motivation or inspiration for seeking a career in the art world?

I was coerced by artist friends who asked me to represent them. I never wished

to be an artist myself, but I have always loved looking at art and speaking about it. I studied art history in Paris at the Louvre Museum, which was also very inspiring.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Forming a family with my artists and my team and making history together.

What would you do if you weren’t a gallerist?

I would be a gardener.

If you could take one artwork from any museum collection in the world to live with, what would it be?

This is the kind of question that is designed to make me go mad! I suppose that I would borrow Thutmose’s bust of Nefertiti (c.1345 BCE) from the Neues Museum in Berlin and then return it to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo.

This article first appeared in Frieze Week Seoul