ARARIO GALLERY will participate in Art Busan 2025, held from May 8 (Thu) to 11 (Sun) at BEXCO in Busan. For this year’s fair, the gallery presents a diverse range of artistic practices that explore the boundary between reality and imagination, experiment with materials and media, and delve into personal and collective memory, highlighting how these artists have contributed to expanding the discourse of contemporary art.

The presentation will showcase the multilayered currents of contemporary art through works that traverse fiction and reality, nature and artifice, and individual memory and social narrative. KANG Cheolgyu (b. 1990, Korea) constructs a fictional world rooted in autobiographical narratives and psychological projection, unfolding a serialized exploration of personal growth. His paintings pursue painterly evolution through persistent brushwork and a deep inquiry into representation. Kohei NAWA (b. 1975, Japan) examines the relationship between the natural and artificial, the individual and the collective. His PixCell series, which merges pixels and cells, questions the nature of imagery in the digital age, dissolving the line between material and immaterial, real and virtual. GWON Osang (b. 1974, Korea) continues his sculptural experiments that blur the boundaries between photography and sculpture, flatness and three dimensionality. His hybrid works redefine the format of contemporary sculpture through a profound investigation of materiality. Subodh GUPTA (b. 1964, India) reflects on rapid urbanization, globalization, and cultural hybridity by incorporating everyday Indian objects, breaking down the boundary between the sacred and the mundane. His work examines sociocultural and economic contexts while contemplating human existence in a globalized world.

CHOI Byungso (b. 1943, Korea) transforms the materiality of newspapers through a repetitive, meditative act of erasure. This performative approach has shaped an important trajectory within Korean experimental art, offering deep reflection on the essence of matter alongside formal exploration. AHN Jisan (b. 1979, Korea) explores the boundary between reality and imagination through thick layers of paint that emphasize material presence. His works evoke emotional intensity and visual tension, immersing the viewer in an intuitive sensory experience.

NOH Sangho (b. 1986, Korea) collects and transforms digital imagery, conducting a unique experiment that combines analog sensibilities with digital environments across painting, sculpture, and video. His work proposes new aesthetic possibilities through contemporary technology. Yuki SAEGUSA (b. 1987, Japan) blends elements of Japanese landscape painting and Northern European painting traditions, rendering complex memories and emotions through a delicate fusion of oil and tempera. Her landscapes invite introspection through sensory exploration of nature and the inner self. WON Seoung Won (b. 1972, Korea) constructs fantastical narrative rich scenes by collaging hundreds of photographs. Her works transform everyday experiences and memories into imaginative tableaux, offering keen insights into human existence with wit and visual storytelling. CHA Hyeonwook (b. 1987, Korea) merges the techniques of traditional Korean colored painting with the spontaneity of Western painting to reimagine personal memories as landscapes. His works explore the boundaries between time and space, self and other, tradition and modernity. LIM Subeom (b. 1997, Korea) envisions a mythological ecosystem where nature and civilization intertwine, prompting a reevaluation of humanity as an integral part of an organic world.

At Art Busan 2025, Arario Gallery will present the works of KANG Cheolgyu, Kohei NAWA, GWON Osang, Subodh GUPTA, CHOI Byungso, AHN Jisan, NOH Sangho, Yuki SAEGUSA, WON Seoung Won, CHA Hyeonwook, and LIM Subeom, each artist exploring the human condition and the world through their unique visual language. Together, their works will showcase the dynamic potential and expansive narratives of Asian contemporary art on the global stage.

Venue
BEXCO, Busan

Exhibition Dates
May 8 – 11, 2025

Booth
B-16 

Artist
KANG Cheolgyu, Kohei NAWA, GWON Osang, Subodh GUPTA, CHOI Byungso, AHN Jisan, NOH Sangho, Yuki SAEGUSA, WON Seoung Won, CHA Hyeonwook, LIM Subeom

Website
https://www.arariogallery.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/arariogallery_official/

Contact
Youngshin LEE, Sales Manager
M. +82 10 4943 0797 / E. youngshin.lee@arariogallery.com
Sojung KANG, Executive Director
M. +82 10 9256 1491 / E. sojung.kang@arariogallery.com

(Text and images courtesy of ARARIO GALLERY)