Kukje Gallery will participate in ART BUSAN 2023 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) from May 4 to 7, 2023. One of Korea’s three largest art fairs, ART BUSAN’s upcoming edition will feature 146 galleries from 22 countries; including 35 international galleries, this marks the largest and most diverse fair in its 12-year history. ART BUSAN 2023 will present a wide variety of programs introducing the latest trends in contemporary art including the Main and Future sections, the latter of which features works by acclaimed emerging artists, along with the first iteration of the Connect section, dedicated to 12 projects that transcend the boundaries of traditional exhibition spaces, and Conversations, a series of public programs focused on the convergence of the art market and new technology.    For the Main section, Kukje Gallery will showcase celebrated works by a roster of leading modern and contemporary Korean and international artists. This selection will include Untitled (c. 1960s), a work on paper by the pioneering abstract expressionist painter Wook-kyung Choi, whose bold material experimentation and conceptual rigor forged new paths in modern and contemporary Korean art history. Choi’s works are currently on view in two important group exhibitions: Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present (on view through June 11, 2023) and Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-70 at the Whitechapel Gallery in London (on view through May 7, 2023). Kukje Gallery will hold its fourth exhibition of Choi’s work in September of this year, to coincide with the second edition of Frieze Seoul. Also on view will be Nucleus (1973) by Lee Seung Jio, a celebrated leader of Korean geometric abstraction who resisted the familiar abstract-expressionist styles that dominated Korea during his generation, pursuing instead a restrained visual language that employed metallic tones and minimal yet striking compositions.   The booth will also include Kim Yong-Ik’s Goods #22-1 (2022), a new acrylic work on paper which is part of the artist’s recent series titled Exhausting Project. Conceived on December 31, 2018, and ongoing, this series aims to “exhaust” all of Kim’s artistic tools including paint and pencils, alluding to how the artist has fused consumption and mortality in his practice. Kim is one of the central figures in Korean modern and contemporary art history, having developed a unique philosophy and studio process whilst maintaining an independent stance in the 1970s and 1980s, and has inspired subsequent generations of Korean artists to pursue a similar spirit of originality and nonconformity. The selection also includes Haegue Yang’s Sonic Cosmic Rope – Gold Dodecagon Straight Weave (2022), a rope of metallic bells—generating unique visual patterns and resonance when manually activated—woven into a geometric constellation, alluding to a Korean folktale of two siblings who escape danger by climbing up a rope that connects the Earth to the sky. A 10-meter-long version of this sculptural piece was first showcased in the Okayama Orient Museum last year as part of Yang’s participation in the Okayama Art Summit. The artist is currently the subject of two institutional solo exhibitions, Quasi-Colloquial at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo (on view through May 28, 2023) and Haegue Yang: Several Reenactments at S.M.A.K. in Ghent (on view through September 10, 2023), and is looking forward to opening solo shows at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra (titled Haegue Yang: Changing From From to From), the Helsinki Art Museum, and an extensive survey show of her work at the Hayward Gallery in London in fall of 2024, which will then travel to major institutions in Europe. Lastly, Yang was announced as one of five finalists for the prestigious Joan Miró Prize, alongside Tala Madani, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Frida Orupabo, and Mika Rottenberg. The final recipient of the prize will be revealed towards the end of May.   The booth will also include Jina Park’s Reflector (2023), a new painting which is based on a series of photographs the artist took on a film set, demonstrating her keen interest in and command of a painterly perspective on everyday moments. Park’s works delicately frame figures quietly concentrating on their work, away from the public eye and in sequestered corners hidden from the spotlight. Also on view will be Suki Seokyeong Kang’s Mat 120 x 165 #22-50 (2021-2022), a contemporary adaptation of a Korean floor mat called hwamunseok, on which a traditional solo dance chunaengmu is performed. Kang’s work is characterized by a subtle purple and yellow background, seen behind the narrow bars of a geometric steel frame.   These works by some of today's most important Korean artists will be exhibited alongside those by widely recognized international artists including the Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor’s Green and Black Mist (2019) from his iconic series of concave discs. Earlier this year, Kapoor unveiled his first permanent sculpture in New York City, which sits at the base of Herzog and de Meuron's 56 Leonard Street skyscraper, better known as the “Jenga Tower.” Along with Wook-kyung Choi, Kapoor will open his fourth solo show at Kukje Gallery this coming September to coincide with the second iteration of Frieze Seoul. The booth will also showcase the British contemporary artist Julian Opie’s Old Street couple 2. (2023) from his series of LEDs which depicts two figures in the act of “walking,” capturing the natural beauty of ordinary movement.   For the Future section, Kukje Gallery will present a solo booth showcasing the work of Daniel Boyd, one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists. Widely celebrated for his investigation of the Western gaze, the artist challenges dominant colonial narratives in Australia and beyond, focusing on the experiences of Indigenous peoples and seeking to restore perspectives often overlooked in historical discourse. One of the works on view will be Untitled (EINWIS) (2023) from the artist’s new series of paintings depicting archers. This piece depicts a Vanuatuan man brandishing his bow and arrow to take aim at a target residing outside of the pictorial frame. The man's pose echoes that of a heroic stance of the Greek warrior Achilles while also effectively honoring a historic individual, a blurring of interpretation that characterizes much of Boyd's incisive practice. Works of similar imagery are also currently on view at the artist’s solo exhibition RAINBOW SERPENT (VERSION) at the Gropius Bau in Berlin (on view through July 9, 2023), which is the most comprehensive presentation of Boyd’s work in Europe to date.   To coincide with ART BUSAN 2023, Kukje Gallery Busan will open a solo exhibition of Julian Opie titled OP.VR@Kukje/F1963.BUSAN on May 3, 2023. Spanning the gallery’s Busan space as well as the neighboring Sukcheon Hall of F1963 where the gallery is located, Opie’s second solo exhibition in Busan will consist of paintings, sculptures, mosaics, film, Virtual Reality (VR) experiences, and a live action performance. This includes a new body of paintings and sculptures that draw from images of pedestrians in Busan taken during the summer of 2022, specifically made for the upcoming show, while the VR portion marks the artist’s first-ever presentation of its kind in Korea. The exhibition will remain on view through July 2, 2023.    Meanwhile in Seoul, Kukje Gallery is presenting solo exhibitions of two of the most iconic artists of the 20th century: Alexander Calder and Lee Ufan. Spanning the first floor of the gallery’s K2 and K3 spaces, and in cooperation with the Estate of Alexander Calder, the show includes iconic examples of his mobiles and standing mobiles, as well as a stunning selection of bronzes and gouache works on paper. A concurrent solo presentation of Lee Ufan takes place across the gallery’s K1 space, the second floor of K2, and the garden, including six sculptures and four drawings that range from the 1980s to new works. Both shows will remain on view through May 28, 2023.