Kukje Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the 7th edition of Art Basel Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) from March 29 to 31, 2019. Widely acknowledged as one of the world’s most respected and innovative fairs, Art Basel annually hosts leading shows in Hong Kong (March), Basel (June), and Miami (December). Art Basel is celebrated for expanding the horizons of the art world and the role art fairs play in educating the public, working closely with emerging galleries to establish their footing in the global art market and developing the art scene in each of the cities that it operates. Inaugurated in 2013, the 7th iteration of Art Basel Hong Kong will feature 242 top-tier galleries from 35 countries all over the world including Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. On view will be a variety of programs offered in different “sectors” beginning with the largest sector Galleries that includes leading international galleries, along with the Kabinett, Encounters, Insights, Discoveries, and Film sectors. This anticipated grouping of different curated projects will be complemented by Conversations, a series of programmed talks that engage the issues within the global contemporary art scene.
Kukje Gallery has been participating in Art Basel Hong Kong since its inaugural edition in 2013 and has consistently been honored for its meticulously curated booths. This year, the gallery is once again pleased to present a wide-ranging presentation featuring both Korean and international modern and contemporary masters. Kukje Gallery is especially proud to represent artists whose historical significance and international acclaim is matched only by their ongoing creative innovation and pursuit of new and expanded practices. The booth will highlight important works by Dansaekhwa artists including Kwon Young-Woo’s Untitled (1985) from his series of colored hanji (Korean paper) works from the 1980s, Park Seo-Bo’s Ecriture series Ecriture (描法) No.110820 (2011), Ha Chong-Hyun’s recent works from his signature Conjunction series, and Lee Ufan’s Correspondence (1995). In addition, the booth will exhibit works by celebrated Korean contemporary artists Gimhongsok, Kyungah Ham, Haegue Yang, and Suki Seokyeong Kang, along with Despair Completed (1997-2002) by Kim Yong-Ik, who will have his debut in Germany with a solo exhibition at Galerie Barbara Wien in April. Kukje Gallery is particularly excited to announce that Suki Seokyeong Kang, who recently joined Kukje Gallery, will participate in the upcoming main exhibition of the 58th Venice Biennale following her receipt of the prestigious Baloise Art Prize from Art Basel last year.
The booth will also showcase works by a roster of leading international contemporary artists including Elbphilharmonie Hamburg Herzog & de Meuron Hamburg X 2016 by Candida Höfer; Mirror (Brandy Wine to Laser Red mix2 to Brandy Wine) (2018) by Anish Kapoor; Joggers. 4. (2015) by Julian Opie; and recent work by Ugo Rondinone, who will open his second solo exhibition at Kukje Gallery in May. Kukje Gallery also introduces seminal work by modern masters every year in Hong Kong; last year the gallery introduced a video installation by Nam June Paik, and this year the booth will include works by Alexander Calder and Gerhard Richter.
Kabinett Sector
Kukje Gallery is thrilled to announce that the work of Yoo Youngkuk will be included in the Kabinett sector. This historical overview follows Kukje Gallery’s presentation of Kwon Young-Woo’s archive in the 2017 Kabinett sector and the work of Kim Yong-Ik’s in 2018. Kukje Gallery opened a solo exhibition of Yoo last September in order to highlight the artist’s vital context within the overall framework of modern Korean art history. Yoo Youngkuk is regarded as one of the founders of Korean abstraction and is best known for his vibrant vocabularies that distilled Korean naturalism into basic formal elements of point, line, plane, and color. Along with his peer Kim Whanki, Yoo is celebrated for his seminal role in promoting modern art in post-war Korea. Kukje Gallery will include six paintings in Kabinett, presenting the artist’s iconic “mountain” motif, characterized by intense colors and the use of graphic, blocky compositions that suggest landscapes and fragmented bodies, along with a selection of archival materials that contextualize his practice.
Encounters Sector
The Berlin-based artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset will participate in the Encounters sector, which is dedicated to presenting large-sculpture and installation works by leading artists in prominent locations throughout the exhibition space. Co-presented by Kukje Gallery, Massimo De Carlo, and Perrotin, Elmgreen & Dragset will showcase City in the Sky (2019), a new installation inspired by financial centers being built in megacities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, and London. The work recreates a scaled model of an imaginary city, installed upside-down in a large armature under which a viewer can gaze upwards and contemplate the future. As the competition among global metropolises intensifies, local identities are influenced by events in other parts of the world, resulting in complex layers and aspirations that impact the cityscape. The artists expanded on this idea, creating a kaleidoscopic overview of a fictional urban landscape in which illuminated skyscrapers are rendered as post-architectural archetypes, prompting viewers to imagine their own ideal city. Curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor who is the Executive Director of Artspace, Sydney, this year’s Encounters sector consists of thirteen projects that recreate today’s complex landscape. In addition, Elmgreen & Dragset will participate in Art Basel Conversations A Common Place? | Artists in Art Fairs on Friday, March 29. The panel will be held from 2pm at the HKCEC, and will provide the opportunity to think about the art fair as a historical space where cultural, political, social, and fiscal economies intersect.
Prior to Elmgreen & Dragset’s Encounters sector showcase at Art Basel Hong Kong, Kukje Gallery will open a solo exhibition of the artist duo titled Adaptations on March 21 in Seoul. Across multiple mediums including architecture, installation, sculpture, and performance, the artists not only create narrative scenarios but also draw on absurdity to undermine the rigid systems that are embedded in today’s society. The duo’s second solo show in Korea after their exhibition at PLATEAU, Samsung Museum of Art in 2015, this ambitious presentation will include approximately 20 new works spanning both the K3 and K2 spaces at the gallery, and will remain on view through April 28.
