Busan Biennale pushes for new discoveries in contemporary Asian art – artist list

KOREA ART EXHIBITIONS BIENNALES ART EVENTS EMERGING ARTISTS

The Busan Biennale 2010 will be held from 11 September until 20 November at several locations in Busan, including the Busan Museum of Art, as well as at the nearby Yachting Center and Gwangalli Beach, under the theme of ‘Living in Evolution’.

The Biennale’s website describes the theme as such:

The official 2010 Busan Biennale poster, designed by Lee Pooroni and based on the theme ‘Living in Evolution’.

We are living individual lives. Yet at the same time, we are living in the processes of evolution. Evolution will continue. But no one knows the direction of this evolution.

This exhibition will try to think through the relations between art, society, world, history and the future by considering the dual time axes in which we are living today.

Featuring 161 works from 72 artists, the art festival will make a new attempt of integrating three existing exhibitions – “Contemporary Art Exhibition”, “Sea Art Festival” and “Busan Sculpture Project” – into one.

The Busan Biennale has been held every two years since the beginning of 2000. This year’s biennale makes an attempt at new discoveries and insights on relations between individuals and mankind, past and future and arts and society.

Kiichiro Adachi, 'Antigravity device', 2009, tulip, soil, neodymium magnet, stainless steel, halogen light.

In an unusual move, the 2010 Busan Biennale will have one single director, Azumaya Takashi, planning for all exhibitions. As an independent curator hailed for his experimental approach to exhibitions, Azumaya has held curatorial posts at the Setagaya Art Museum and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. He was commissioner of the 2002 Media City Seoul and guest curator for the 2008 Busan Biennale.

The art festival aims to help forge a closer link between the public and contemporary art through creating connections between the featured works and exhibition venues. Large-scale installations will be placed at several key spots in the city to serve as landmarks, depicting the exhibition theme and symbolising civilisations.

Along with the main exhibition, directed by Azumaya, the 2010 Busan Biennale will be composed of special exhibitions such as “Now, Asian Art” and joint exhibitions such as “Gallery Festival” and “Exhibition at alternative spaces”.

Featuring young and experimental artists from Korea, China and Japan,”Now, Asian Art” aims to tighten regional networks in Asia and strengthen contemporary Asian art. “Gallery Festival” is a set of special exhibitions presented by local art galleries, again featuring artists from Korea, China and Japan.

Educational programs, including a contemporary art course called “Art Story”, will be available. The course is scheduled to open in October and targets adult art lovers and aspiring artists. In addition, a conference of art editors in Asia will be held on September 12 under the title of the “Asian Editors’ Conference”.

Asian artists participating in the 2010 Busan Biennale include:

Donghee Koo, 'Souvenir', 2008, wood, light fixture, mirror, and artificial plant.

Korea
Min-Kyu KANG
Tae Hun KANG
Donghee KOO
Dalsul KWON
Eunju KIM
Jung-Myung KIM
Shinjung RYU
Bal Loon PARK
Sung Tae PARK
SATA
Moo-kyoung SHIN
Sangho SHIN
Dayeon WON
Kibong RHEE
Byungho LEE
SongJoon LEE
Young Sun LIM
Seung JUNG
Jinyun CHEONG
Hye Ryun JUNG
Jung Moo CHO
Ki-Youl CHA
Bongho HA

Thaweesak Srithongdee, 'Zoo', 2009, acrylic on canvas.

Japan
Kohei NAWA
Saburo MURAOKA
Kiichiro ADACHI
Kenji YANOBE
Miki JO
Akira KANAYAMA
Tomoko KONOIKE
Kosei KOMATSU

China
MadeIn
Shun YUAN
Anxiong QIU

Thailand
Imhathai SUWATTANASILP
Thaweesak SRITHONGDEE

Turkey
Emre HÜNER
Inci EVINER

UK, Israel
Yishay GARBASZ
Zadok BEN-DAVID

Mongolia
Amarsaikhan NAMSRAIJAV

Vietnam
Dinh Q. LÊ

Philippines
Christina DY

Taiwan
Shih Chieh HUANG

Egypt
Doa ALY

VL/KN

Related Topics: Korean venues, biennales, emerging artists, promoting art

Related Posts:

• 27 contemporary Southeast Asian artists featured in ASEAN-Korea photo exhibition – July 2010 – Southeast Asian contemporary photographers showcase their work in Busan
• Korean art hit and miss at Seoul Auction Hong Kong: New York Times – July 2010 – summary of a New York Times article explaining the market trends of auctions held by Seoul Auction
• Touring Taiwan: 50 of Taiwan’s top artworks on display at the Busan Museum of Arts, Korea – January 2010 – Taipei Fine Arts Museum Collection shown in Busan
• Performance of Asia tops West for first timers at auction in 2008/09 – November 2009 – ArtPrice: Asian artists outperformed their Western counterparts
• Troubles for Korean art at home, better reception abroad – Korean Herald, New York Magazine – January 2009 – report of a downward trend in the local Korean art market

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Christies in Dubai sets record for most pricey Arab artwork

CONTEMPORARY MIDDLE EASTERN ART

DUBAI- Christies auctions Ahmed Mustafa's diptych "Remembrance and Gratitude" on October 24, 2009 for a record breaking $662,500.

A Christies auction in Dubai set a new record for the price of a contemporary Arab artwork, fetching $662,500 for a double calligraphy piece by Egyptian artist Ahmed Mustafa titled “Remembrance and Gratitude.” Matoob Business reports Mustafa already held the record for the highest selling Arab artwork, and broke his own auction sales record set with a different artwork in 2007.

Christies not surprised

The record breaking sale was little surprise to Christies, however. The Daily Star reveals Christies had given the work the highest-ever guide price, valuing Mustafa’s diptych at $600,000-$800,000. Christies Middle East and Europe president Jussi Phylkkanen notes:

“Expectations were high, especially with regards to the exhibited works of exceptional quality”

Other high sellers

The second highest selling artwork at $578,500 dollars was “Untitled (Yellow Heads)” painting by India’s Tyeb Metha. Turkish artist Burhan Dogancay’s “Rift” sold for $242,500, and Iranian Charles Hossein Zenderoudi’s “Kharjee Spirit” fetched $218,500 dollars.

Middle Eastern market shows growth

The October 24th auction in total sold 6.7 million dollars worth of artworks, twice the value reached in the last auction that was held in April. The October sale was being viewed by experts as a test for the Middle Eastern art market, which has struggled in the recession as the mega rich expressed less interest in purchasing artworks.

Regarding the sale, AFP reports that Michael Jeha, Christies Middle East managing director commented:

“Despite the global economic crisis… the appetite for art in the Middle East continues to grow, and also the appetite for Middle Eastern arts.”

Jeha continued by saying that since the first auction in 2006, Christies sales in Dubai have risen by 400%.

Related Posts

• Review round up- Saatchi Middle East art show unveiled- which artists are critic favorites? Feb 09
• Abu Dhabi art- a major new art calendar event just announced– July 09
• Latest update on the market for Iranian art– Dec 08
• The Dubai art market and its future– Dec 08

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for the latest art market news and auction results

Abraaj Capital Art Prize fills a void in the art prize world

ABRAAJ CAPITAL ART

Unlike other art prizes, the Abraaj Capital Art Prize is awarded for art project proposals rather than work already produced.

By recognising the latent potential of ideas and providing funding for the winners, the Abraaj Art Prize which is open to artists from MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) helps to bring into being works that may otherwise never have been made.

Zoulikha Bouabdellah, Walk on the Sky, installation, 2009

In its inaugural year the winning projects were on show for the first time at the Art Dubai art fair in March 2009.

Zoulika Bouabdellah

The winning piece by Algerian video and installation artist Zoulika Bouabdellah (b.1977) and curator Carol Solomon was a stunning three dimensional space called Walk on Sky, Pisces 2009.

The piece recreates the night sky with a system of light-emitting diodes mounted on an aluminium ceiling to form a constellation of of stars. The viewer is invited to walk on the  stainless steel floor which mirrors the pulsing pattern of coloured stars 3 meters above thus creating an experience of walking on the sky.

Multiple sources inform the work including the polygon star (a key geometric configuration in Islamic art), the influential tenth-century treatise, Book of Fixed Stars by the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi and the story of the legendary glass floor erected in front of King Solomon’s throne which the Queen of Sheba was led to believe was water. (note 1)

Bouabdellah’s work demands the involvement of the spectator, who must physically enter the installation in order to be able to experience it .

“It is not interesting from afar; you have to walk on it. When you walk on it, it becomes art.” explains Bouabdellah to the Gulf News.

When Art Radar viewed the piece out of doors at Art Dubai, the floor was covered in desert sand footprints and fascinated children played games of flying and sliding across the sky floor. As dusk fell the viewers became shadows and the coloured star patterns above and their reflections below grew more dominant, becoming intricate patterns of colour piercing the gloom. 

The work of the 10th century Persian astronomer Abd Al Rahman Al Sufi has provided a key source of inspiration for the piece. “My work is a homage to science, to global intelligence.”

Speaking of the influence of Islamic culture in her work, Bouabdellah points to a period between the 9th and 15th centuries, an era to which she would like to return in terms of the expansiveness and inclusivity of Islamic culture.

 “Islamic culture during that period was like bridges between spaces. We cannot talk about Islamic culture without talking about Africa, India, Southern Spain, China.” The era represents for her a time when the yearning for knowledge transcended boundaries and cultural categories, when the Caliph would invite scholars, regardless of religion or ethnicity, to the Maison du Savoir in Baghdad. (note 2)

It seemed to us in the failing light as the echos of playing children reverberated inside the space, that the piece was more than a bridge linking spaces. Children showed us it was also a bridge across generations and a magic carpet of possibility. Just one warning….best to wear trousers if you want to take a walk across the mirrored floor of magic.

The other winners were:

Nazgal Ansarinia

Nazgol Ansarinia, Rhyme and Reason, carpet 2009

Iranian artist Nazgal Ansarinia (b 1979) with curator Leyla Fakhr for her carpet piece Rhyme and Reason 2009 in which she transforms the traditional floral motifs of the Persian carpet into scenes of contemporary life from Iran. The work prompts us to take a closer look at what is being taken for granted.

Nazgol Ansarinia, Rhyme and Reason detail

Kutlug Ataman

Turkish artist Kutlug Ataman (b 1961) with Italian curator Cristiana Perrella for his video Strange Space in which the artist is filmed crossing a sulphorous desert land with bare feet and blinded eyes.  The piece is inspired by a classical folk story in which the hero blinded by the love of the heroine is condemned to wander in the desert trying to find her just to burn in flames when they finally meet. Ataman’s work is a metaphor for the relationship of attraction and trauma created when tradition and modernity meet.

Kutlug Ataman, Strange Space, video, 2009

Notes:

1.  Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2009 pamphlet distributed at Fort Island, Madinat Jumeirah at Art Dubai 18-21 March 2009

2.  Gulf News

Related posts:

• Art Dubai – who sold what to whom? 15 galleries talk to Art Radar – March 2009
• Turkish art another fad? The lowdown on this new market – March 2009
• Japanese Indian artist creates mobile home installation in first solo show in Europe – Feb 2009 – another artist who works with light in installations
• Kandinsky prize won by Alexey Beliayeb-Guintovt, video of menacing ceremony – Dec 2008
• Pakistani artist Huma Bhaba receives Aldrich Museum emerging artist prize 2008 – Aug 2008

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for the latest news of prize-winning artworks in Asia

Who are the emerging Generation Y artists from Asia? The New Museum selects

EMERGING ARTISTS ASIA

Trend: Generational grouping of art

The New Museum in New York chooses 8 artists from Asia and a total of 50 globally, to describe the next generation of emerging artists (born after 1976) as part of its new signature triennial exhibition “the Generational” which runs til 14 June 2009.

Tala Madani Spraying Stripes

About the exhibition

For “Younger Than Jesus,” the first edition of “The Generational,” fifty artists from twenty-five countries will be presented.

Known to demographers and marketers as the Millennials, Generation Y, iGeneration, and Generation Me, this age group has yet to be described in any way beyond their habits of consumption. “Younger Than Jesus” will begin to examine the visual culture this generation has created to date.

First major international museum exhibition for 80s artists

Consistent with the New Museum’s thirty-year mission to present new art and new ideas, “The Generational: Younger Than Jesus” will be the first major international museum exhibition devoted exclusively to the generation born around 1980, tapping into the different perspectives prescribing the future of global culture.

Elad Lassry untitled film

Huge demographic

In the United States, this demographic group is the largest generation to emerge since the Baby Boomers, while in India half the population is less than twenty-five years old; the sheer size of this generation ensures its worldwide influence.

By bringing together a wide variety of artists and contextualizing their different approaches, “Younger Than Jesus” will capture the signals of an imminent change, identify stylistic trends that are emerging among a diverse group of creators, and provide the general public with a first in-depth look at how the next generation conceives of our world.

Chu Yun Love - a project created for Siemens

Artists from Asia

China: Chu Yun, Cao Fei, Liu Chang

India: Shilpa Gupta

Israel: Elad Lassry

Iran: Tala Madani

Kazakhstan: Alexander Ugay

Turkey: Ahmet Ogut

Publications

For those who can’t make it to the show at the Bowery, the New Museum’s publications are the next best thing.

Buy Younger Than Jesus Directory

Biographical information and images from the over 500 artists who were submitted for consideration for the exhibition by the global network of informants will be included in the publication Younger Than Jesus: The Artist Directory, co-published by the New Museum and Phaidon. The publication will serve as an informal census of the artists from this generation, and will expand the exhibition by adding an additional platform.

The exhibition catalogue, co-published by the New Museum and Steidl, will include reproductions of the work of the fifty artists chosen for the exhibition, as well as original essays by the exhibition curators and an anthology of articles by a diverse group of writers including philosophers, sociologists, journalists, activists, and marketing and technology experts. It is intended to compose a complex picture of the art and preoccupations that animate the work of this emerging generation.

Related posts:

• Turkish art another fad? The lowdown on this new market – March 2009
• Saatchi Middle Eastern show Unveiled – which new artists are critic favourites? Feb 2009
• What are the latest trends in Chinese art? Who are the top two emerging artists? Melissa Chiu video – Feb 2009
• New roles for art collectors, institutions created by Cao Fei on Second Life – Jan 2009
• Central Asian art joins mainstream market – Dec 2008
• Guide to art scene in Tel Aviv Israel – New York Times – Sep 2008

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for news and trends

Turkish art another fad? The lowdown on this new market

TURKISH ART MARKET INTERVIEW

In the week of Sotheby’s inaugural sale of Turkish art, Art Radar gets the lowdown on the Turkish art market from Anders Petterson, Managing Director of research company ArtTactic.

Sotheby’s holds its inaugural sale of Turkish contemporary art  this month – why is Turkish contemporary art receiving attention now?

The local art scene in Turkey has experienced a boom in new art institutions since 2004, from galleries, artist-run spaces, privately funded museums and art centres, to art fairs and auctions. At the same time the value of the domestic Turkish art auction market has quadrupled in the eight years after 2000. The international auction houses have been keeping a close eye on these developments and are beginning to test the market now.

But what about the recession? Does it make sense for Sotheby’s to launch a new category now?

Yes this is a valid issue. Arguably this is not an ideal time to launch a new category, perhaps the decision was made in better times. On the other hand there is a base of collectors and strong institutional support. Unlike other emerging art markets this is an art scene with an established infrastructure which has been overlooked by international collectors. Furthermore Christie’s tested the market in October 2008 when it included Turkish modern and contemporary artists in the Dubai contemporary art sale. Eleven of the fifteen lots sold which was a robust result.

Istanbul holds its Biennal in 2009 and will become the European Capital of Culture in 2010 which could give the arts scene further impetus over the next year or so.

Are there any other auction houses selling or planning to sell contemporary Turkish art?

There are several local auction houses and it is rumoured that Phillips de Pury and Bonhams plan to follow in the footsteps of Sothebys.

Is there a secondary market? Which are the leading galleries focusing on contemporary Turkish art?

The gallery scene has expanded considerably over the last two years. New galleries have opened showing  cutting edge art alongside the more conservative galleries which date back to the 80s and 90s. If you are interested in delving further, our report on the Turkish art market profiles approximately a dozen galleries with information about when they opened, who runs them and what kind of art they focus on.

Are the contemporary artists in the Sotheby’s auction new to the auction scene or do they have an auction history?

Out of the artists born after 1950, 44% have never sold at auction and most of the rest have sold a few works in domestic auctions in Turkey. The exceptions are Mustafa Horasan, Kezban Arca Batibeki, Bedri Baykam and Kemal Onsoy who sell frequently at auction.

It sounds like this auction will be an intereting test for the future of theTurkish art market. If it is successful will it be yet another international art market fad?

While this is possible of course, I hope not. In its favour is its strong infrastructure of galleries, curators, museums and not for profits. Read our report for information on the most important of these in each category. Prices of Turkish art are cheap relative to Indian, Iranian and Chinese art and that could help too.

Find out more about ArtTactic’s 20 page report on the Turkish Modern and Contemporary Art Market Feb 2009

Related posts:

•  Sotheby’s inaugural sale of Turkish art – video – 5 artists talk March 2009
• Top 4 Radar picks at the Cairo Biennale Dec 2008 – One of Radar’s picks is Turkish artist Gulsun Karamustafa

Subscribe to Art Radar for facts and information about emerging art markets

Sothebys inaugural sale of contemporary Turkish art – video – 5 artists talk

TURKISH ART AUCTION

Sotheby’s is holding its inaugural sale of Turkish art on 4 March 2009 in London. Check out the art and see 5 Turkish contemporary artists talking about their paintings, photographs and sculptures in the sale.

Themes of war, imprisonment, fighting and human sacrifice run through the works. Power and powerlessness are expressed in both social commentary works referencing feminism and the more political works such as Nasif Topcuoglu’s  Abu Ghraib-inspired photograph Lamentations .

Click here for Turkish contemporary art video

Featured artists:

• Taner Ceylan discusses his work Spiritual 2008, a photo-realistic painting of blood-dribbling fighter in motion.

Taner Ceylan, Spiritual, paint

• Female artist Hale Tenger talks about Invainers of the Lost Arc II 1992, a brass installation of male figures spiralling down into a void expressing her fiery feminism at that time. In Balloon Loan II 2008 the topic of depression is depicted in a photograph in which the only coloured objects are a row of balloons floating on the sea soon to be shot with a gun.

Nasif Topcuoglu, Lamentations, photograph

• Nasif Topcuoglu is a photographer who reconstructs Baroque paintings with contemporary youths replacing the original figures. His works are sexually-charged and his interest in the sacrifice of youth as a continuing phenomenon  is evident in both Sacrifice: The Story of Isaac 2008 and in the more political work Lamentations 2007 which references Abu Ghraib.

• Other artists include ‘bright young thing’ Leyla Gediz and another female artist Canaan Senol whose work The Transparent Police Station 2008 shows nude and uniformed figures trapped in a plexiglass brick wall. Ansen Atilla‘s ‘inspired’ photograph The Devil May Load 2008 captures a violent scene of a gun-toting figure constructed with household and everyday objects.

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for news of new art categories

Radar’s top four artist picks at Cairo International Biennal

ART BIENNIAL AFRICA EGYPT

The opening ceremony of the 11th Cairo International Biennale took place on 21 December 2008. Past versions of this state-organised biennial have been slammed by critics:

The 10th edition of the Cairo International Biennale could have very well been the 8th or 9th….(and)once again highlights the division that exists in the local art circuit between the establishment, namely state-sponsored arts institutions including that of the Biennale, and the private or so-called independent art sector. Moreover, like it’s predecessors, a clear lack of curatorial direction in the selection makes the range of works on exhibition seem disconnected from each other as well as from international contemporary art practices from which the Biennale organisers claim to be operating from within.

NAFAS art magazine

We will have to wait for all the reviews to come in before we can determine the consensus view of the 11th edition but, whatevever the outcome, there is interesting art to explore. Here are Radar’s favourites:

• Haruko Yamashita (Japan 1952) – sculptor who has lived in Paris and Italy

• Gulsun Karamustafa (Turkey 1946) – film. She lives in Istanbul, reviewed by Art Forum, Frieze, Art in America Gulsun on wikipedia

• Adel Abidin (Iraq 1973) – film sculpture.  Now  lives in Helsinki. He has exhibited in the Venice Biennale and MOCA Taipei and has been featured in  international publications including Le Monde, Guardian, New York Times www.adelabidin.com

• Kimsooja (Korea 1957) multimedia from video to sewn works, exhibited at Sao Paolo Biennial and Venice Biennale Kimsooja’s website
  

  Lotus

The principles of harmony and oneness are reflected in Kimsooja’s installation Lotus Zone of Zero, 2008, currently housed at Rotunda at Galerie Ravenstein in Brussels through January 18, 2009. The site specific installation consists of approximately 2000 lanterns shaped as lotus flowers. The visual is accompanied by sound in the form of Tibetan, Gregorian and Islamic chants that merge in the center of the space. Honoring a vision of peace, the work embodies the dance between individuality and universality, yin and yang, and a potential future for planet earth.

Evilmonito.com for featured artist review

Find below a complete list of artists from the Asian continent:

Azerbaijan: Adil Yusifov

Bahrain: Waheeda Malullah

Bangladesh: Firoz Mahmoud

China: Qiu Anxiong

Egypt: Adel Amien Al-Siwy, Arman Agoub Gubian, Essam Mohamed Maarouf, Hanafi Mahmoud Khalaf alla. Wael Kamal Wahby Fahmy Darwish

Iraq: Adel Abidin, Ali Assaf El-Gabry, Tamara Nouri

Japan : Haruko Yamashita

Hani Hourani

Jordan: Hani Hourani

Korea: Kimsooja

Kuwait: Shorouk Amin

Lebanon: Khaled Ramadan, Salwa Zeidan

Libya: Ali al-Abani

Palestine: Hani Zurob

Qatar: Salam Al-Malek, Youseff Ahmed

Saudi Arabia: Ahmed Mater Al-Ziad, Fahd al-Hijilan, Faisal Samra

Syria: Buthayna Ali, Sabhan Adam

Turkey: Gulsun Karamustafa

See:

• Cairo Biennial website for more images and bios of artists

More posts about Biennials, emerging artists, sculpture,

Subscribe to Art Radar to know which artists are getting noticed

 

Kimsooja Bottari Truck