Art fair in Busan to bring together 164 art galleries from home and abroad

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- The annual international art fair in the southern port city of Busan, Art Busan, will kick off next week to bring together 164 art galleries from home and abroad, its organizer said Tuesday. Art Busan 2019, which marks its eighth edition this year, will set sail on May 31 at the Bexco Exhibition Center, according to the organizer, Artshow Busan Association. This year's event will feature the highest profile local and overseas art galleries in the show's eight-year history, Artshow Busan said. Such highbrow art galleries as Kukje Gallery, Gallery Hyundai, PKM Gallery and Gana Art are among the 106 local art dealers that will show artworks during the three-day fair. The remaining 58 participating galleries from abroad include Peres Project, Societe and Konig Galerie, all based in Berlin. Peres plans to hold a large-scale performance painting installation during the art show. The gallery lineup also includes Almine Rech, a gallery run by the wife of Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, a grandson of the iconic painter Pablo Picasso, as well as galleries based in Tokyo, Nagoya and Shanghai. The art show will operate an "S-booth," a special desk to showcase artwork by young artists and galleries that have been established over the past five years, according to the organizer. Art Busan 2019 will also feature "Project," a joint installation artwork project by the association of participating galleries, for which New York-based Shin Gallery and Daegu-based P&C will stage art-making performances by acclaimed artists. "An art fair is a place of communication where the trends of the global art (market) and information can be shared," Sohn Young-hee, president of Artshow Busan, said. "I hope Busan could soar as a city of highbrow art and culture through this art fair as Hong Kong has done with its Art Basel." pbr@yna.co.kr (END)