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Frieze Seoul 2025: Where the Future of Art is Forged
By a Special Correspondent for Art Expo World in Seoul
The announcement of the Frieze Seoul 2025 programme confirms the fair's status not merely as Asia's premier commercial hub, but as a vital curatorial platform capable of setting the agenda for the critical discourse of the entire region. Its fourth edition, running from 3–6 September at COEX in Gangnam, is poised as a large-scale exploration of the "extraordinary depth and breadth of Korea’s contemporary art landscape," in the words of fair director Patrick Lee. Judging by the programme, this is far from empty rhetoric.
The announcement of the Frieze Seoul 2025 programme confirms the fair's status not merely as Asia's premier commercial hub, but as a vital curatorial platform capable of setting the agenda for the critical discourse of the entire region. Its fourth edition, running from 3–6 September at COEX in Gangnam, is poised as a large-scale exploration of the "extraordinary depth and breadth of Korea’s contemporary art landscape," in the words of fair director Patrick Lee. Judging by the programme, this is far from empty rhetoric.
Frieze LIVE: The Body as a Political Instrument
The most radical and anticipated segment is Frieze LIVE, curated in partnership with the pioneering Art Sonje Center. The project ‘off-site 2: Eleven Episodes’, stretching over two months, deliberately shifts the focus to marginalised voices, spotlighting a new generation of Korean female and genderqueer practitioners: Yagwang, Younghae Chang, Jimin Hah, Sojin Kwak, and Ru Kim.
Their site-specific performances, scheduled not only at the fair but also at Kukje Gallery K2 and Dosan Park, promise to be acts of artistic defiance. For instance, Yagwang’s durational procession, ‘Raw Proof: Echo’, through the fair pavilions, challenges the commercial heart of the event itself by introducing an element of bodily vulnerability and *durée*. Meanwhile, the poetic, multi-part titles of works like Younghae Chang’s ‘climb, fronthook, angel, invert, daphne, figure head, scorpion, fall, gemini, princess, chopstick’ suggest a complex synthesis of the physical and the linguistic, where the body becomes an alphabet for inscribing new identities.
Their site-specific performances, scheduled not only at the fair but also at Kukje Gallery K2 and Dosan Park, promise to be acts of artistic defiance. For instance, Yagwang’s durational procession, ‘Raw Proof: Echo’, through the fair pavilions, challenges the commercial heart of the event itself by introducing an element of bodily vulnerability and *durée*. Meanwhile, the poetic, multi-part titles of works like Younghae Chang’s ‘climb, fronthook, angel, invert, daphne, figure head, scorpion, fall, gemini, princess, chopstick’ suggest a complex synthesis of the physical and the linguistic, where the body becomes an alphabet for inscribing new identities.
Frieze Film: A Journey into Other Worlds
The fair will also feature large-scale installations, including a new project by the duo Moon Kyungwon & Jeon Joonho, known for their futuristic social utopias, and a new site-specific installation by Liam Gillick, which will transform the exhibition space into a zone of public interaction.
However, the true magic of Frieze Seoul has always happened beyond the walls of COEX. The ‘Neighbourhood Nights’ series from 1–4 September turns the entire city into a total installation.
The nights in Euljiro (focusing on non-profit spaces like Studio Haegue Yang), Hannam, Cheongdam, and Samcheong represent a genius stroke to decolonise art from the fair pavilion. It allows the audience to map the real, living ecosystem of Seoul's art world, from giants like Kukje Gallery and Gallery Hyundai to tiny independent spaces.
The debut charity project Frieze x Print Bakery, featuring works by distinguished artists on limited-edition ceramics and traditional moon jars in support of UNICEF, is an elegant metaphor for the entire fair: a deep respect for local tradition and its reimagining within a global context.
Frieze Seoul 2025 proves that a fair's success is measured not only in turnover but in the courage of its curatorial statement. This year, it is prepared to offer not just a snapshot of the market, but a snapshot of the consciousness of a whole generation of artists defining the face of Asian art today.
Your guide to the world of great art, ART EXPO WORLD.
However, the true magic of Frieze Seoul has always happened beyond the walls of COEX. The ‘Neighbourhood Nights’ series from 1–4 September turns the entire city into a total installation.
The nights in Euljiro (focusing on non-profit spaces like Studio Haegue Yang), Hannam, Cheongdam, and Samcheong represent a genius stroke to decolonise art from the fair pavilion. It allows the audience to map the real, living ecosystem of Seoul's art world, from giants like Kukje Gallery and Gallery Hyundai to tiny independent spaces.
The debut charity project Frieze x Print Bakery, featuring works by distinguished artists on limited-edition ceramics and traditional moon jars in support of UNICEF, is an elegant metaphor for the entire fair: a deep respect for local tradition and its reimagining within a global context.
Frieze Seoul 2025 proves that a fair's success is measured not only in turnover but in the courage of its curatorial statement. This year, it is prepared to offer not just a snapshot of the market, but a snapshot of the consciousness of a whole generation of artists defining the face of Asian art today.
Your guide to the world of great art, ART EXPO WORLD.
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