The New York Times | Frieze Debuts in Seoul, With Big-Name Galleries and a Hometown Spectacle

Ted Loos, The New York Times, August 30, 2022

The fair features a special section called Focus Asia, with 10 solo presentations by Asian galleries that opened in 2010 or after. The special section was curated by Christopher Y. Lew, chief artistic director of the Horizon Art Foundation in Los Angeles, and Hyejung Jang, an independent curator who works with Seoul’s Doosan Gallery.

 

Focus Asia ranges broadly, with Dastan gallery of Tehran mixing with Yeo Workshop of Singapore and Jhaveri Contemporary of Mumbai.

 

“We weren’t trying to make a thematic link, but to show the range,” Mr. Lew said. “The continent is so large. But it’s an exciting way to show a wide range of practices.”

 

One commonality emerged: artists grappling with technology and employing it creatively, “but not as a novelty,” Mr. Lew said.

 

One example is the work of the Singapore-based artist Fyerool Darma, presented by Yeo Workshop; Mr. Darma shows textiles that mimic the pixelated look of digitized works.

“It evokes the screens we have all experienced during the pandemic,” Mr. Lew said.