YG Plus Launches Art Label 'Physis'
Interview with Physis Business Director Lee Hyo-jung
"Writers also need branding and PR just like (K-pop) artists"
YG Plus, a subsidiary of YG Entertainment, has boldly entered the art label business, becoming the first domestic entertainment company to do so. Since being incorporated as a subsidiary of YG Entertainment in 2013, YG Plus has mainly focused on IP (intellectual property) and music-related infrastructure businesses. Now, in its 10th year, it has launched a new business: the art label ‘PEECES’.
The entry of an entertainment company into the art market was seen as a somewhat unfamiliar move, but the person leading this initiative said it allowed for a spirit of adventure. Lee Hyo-jung, director at YG Plus, introduced the exhibition by saying, "We wanted to break away from the existing art world framework and create points of contact where artists from various genres and the public can breathe together and communicate."
PEECES is currently holding its first exhibition, ‘House of Taste,’ in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, until March 5. Through a group exhibition featuring eight artists (Kim Mi-young, Moon Seung-ji, Bokim, Baek Hana, Oh Jae-hoon, Iak Craft, Jung Soo-young, Chae Ji-min), the exhibition harmoniously showcases works across various genres such as painting, crafts, furniture design, and ceramics in partitioned spaces, differentiating itself from conventional exhibitions.
The eight participating artists?Kim Mi-young, Moon Seung-ji, Bokim, Baek Hana, Oh Jae-hoon, Iak Craft (Jeon Hyun-ji), Jung Soo-young, and Chae Ji-min?were all born in the 1980s and 1990s. Some of them have experience collaborating with luxury or fashion brands, and as young artists, they have a large number of followers on social media platforms like Instagram, thus possessing their own 'fandom.'
While the traditional art market has galleries with exclusive artists hosting exhibitions and submitting works to art fairs to connect with collectors, YG Plus aims to find the intersection between pure art and popular art, lowering the entry barriers to the art market and making art something "everyone can enjoy without borders." This is also why the existing art world is paying attention to YG Plus’s entry into the industry.
The fabric work furniture accessories by artist Oh Jae-hwan of Pisis and the paintings by artist Kim Mi-young are exhibited together in harmony. [Photo by YG Plus]
Will PEECES move forward with artist management in the art world following this exhibition? Director Lee said, "Nowadays, it is important for artists to promote not only their works but also themselves. In that sense, social media is not just a channel for promoting works and exhibitions but a communication channel between artists’ fans, that is, collectors." She explained, "From that perspective, we want to apply our existing artist management know-how and IP business experience to the art field to help artists grow their influence."
Various plans are also underway to expand artists’ IP. Director Lee added, "We are planning various attempts such as new brands based on our affiliated artists’ work or artist x artist collaborations, but regarding collaborations, we want to plan them from new perspectives that have not been tried before."
Curious about PEECES’s criteria for selecting artists, as distinctive as YG’s unique artist color, Director Lee said, "We are different from existing galleries and want to plan various projects, so it is important whether the artists are open to these new attempts." She continued, "What we consider most important is that the artists have solid fundamentals in their fields and work earnestly in their respective positions. If these two conditions are met, then the next step is whether our colors match. Of course, I think this is the most difficult part."
In line with the launch of PEECES, YG Plus has signed exclusive contracts with artists Baek Hana and Oh Jae-hoon. Starting with this exhibition, YG Plus plans to expand artist recruitment and also prepare exhibition spaces where visitors can communicate. Director Lee expressed her ambition, saying, "Going forward, it will be a time to shape the direction of our affiliated artists and their works together. While planning proposals that can create synergy through collaborations with various brands, just as K-pop has achieved global success, PEECES will play a pivotal role in popularizing K-art and opening the era of globalization."
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