Asia's Largest Urban Art Fair 'Urban Break 2021' Opens, Seojeong Art Center Participates

[URBAN BREAK 2021 Exhibition View. (Photo by Seojeong Art Center)]

Seojeong Art Center (CEO Lee Dae-hee) participated in the art fair "Urban Break 2021 (URBAN BREAK 2021, hereinafter Urban Break)" which opened on the 28th (Wednesday) at COEX 1st floor B Hall.

Urban Break is Asia's largest urban art fair that prominently features urban contemporary art, meaning "various artistic activities set against the backdrop of the city." In line with Urban Break's character, which has led art fairs with keywords such as street art, contemporary art, and the MZ generation, Seojeong Art Center's booth this time seems to have been curated by analyzing the trends and sensibilities of art enthusiasts.

At Seojeong Art Center's "Booth C" and "Booth D," works from overseas collections and domestic emerging artists were introduced together. Seojeong Art Center exhibited numerous works by artists who attract the attention of the younger generation, including Ayako Rokaku, Michael Craig-Martin, Takashi Murakami, KAWS, Javier Calleja, Jeff Koons, and Catherine Bernhard. They presented a new form of exhibition featuring not only original paintings but also edition prints, sculptures, and art toys. Javier Calleja, who has begun to make a name for himself in Asia through various art fairs and exhibitions including Art Basel Hong Kong, is currently one of the popular artists among domestic collectors. His signature art toy of a young boy, "Do Not Touch" (2019), is a limited edition of 250 pieces and can be seen at this art fair.

Another theme of the booth featured an exhibition space for three domestic emerging artists: Banakido, Pijeongwon, and Hong Ji-young. Illustrator and pop artist Banakido's graphic-based works, Pijeongwon's "Untitled" series using ink as the main material, and Hong Ji-young's "Epidermis" series were each installed to highlight the characteristics of their respective media.

Seojeong Art Center appears to have secured competitiveness in art fairs by exploring new themes annually and enabling the observation of artists' works that demonstrate experimental spirit in terms of materials and techniques. Lee Dae-hee, CEO of Seojeong Art Center, commented, "As the age group of collectors gradually lowers, the trends in the art market are rapidly changing. This event seems to be a place that intensively represents the movements of the art market targeting the younger generation."

Urban Break 2021, which opened with a VIP preview at 3 PM on the 28th (Wednesday), will continue until 5 PM on August 1st (Sunday).

Meanwhile, Seojeong Art Center is currently continuing a project to discover and support young domestic artists through curated exhibitions. Following the second half of last year, the "BC Card X Seojeong Art Center: Young Artist Exhibition Project - All Your Days" exhibition, now in its second part this year, is being held at the Eulji Twin Tower where Seojeong Art Center's annex is located. Additionally, the "Plat Flat" exhibition is being held at CGV Pangyo, and the "Places to Stay, Places to Leave" exhibition is taking place at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall, continuing efforts to introduce works in various media.