Vibrant sculptures at Gamcheon Culture Village, Busan | © Cezzie901 / Flickr
Phoebe Taylor 29 June 2018
© OpenSpace Bae
An alternative arts space located on Ilgwang Mountain, OpenSpace Bae is a non-profit organisation founded by a group of local artists and activists in 2006. Although it’s quite far out of the city — approximately 25 minutes’ walk from Ilgwan Yeok — it’s well worth the visit if you have time. Check to see that it will be open before you go, as the gallery doesn’t always adhere to set hours. The remoteness of the location is deliberate, as the gallery aims to break free of the institutional mindset created by cities. OpenSpace Bae runs an international residency programme and a number of public art projects, which has led to the gallery’s growth as a hub of exciting artistic exchange. The name is tied to the gallery’s location — the Korean word baemeans (amongst other things) both ‘pear’ and ‘ship’, linking the space to the sea city of Busan and its specific location in a pear orchard. In this way, it resonates with the organisation’s desire to create contemporary art located in and contextualised by nature.
Art Gallery, Museum
Busan Museum of Art is the city’s largest contemporary arts space. It’s free to enter, and shows work from some of Korea’s leading artists. Its five floors of gallery space span painting, sculpture and video installations (as well as a library and audiovisual centre), and there’s an outdoor sculpture garden at the museum’s entrance. A small shop on the ground floor sells arts-related gifts. The gallery is close to other tourist attractions such as Shinsaegae Centum City, Busan Cinema Centre, and BEXCO exhibition hall.
Soul Art Space is a small two-storey gallery located in Marine City, just behind Haeundae Yacht Club. It focuses on work by contemporary Korean artists such as Dukki Kim and Leenam Lee, and has also hosted prominent international artists such as Eva Armisen and Abbas Kiarostami. Exhibitions are tightly curated and often thought-provoking. The gallery regularly takes part in internationally renowned art fairs such as Art Miami and Art Seoul, and sometimes runs events such as forum discussions, workshops, film and music performances and artist talks. Soul Art Space began in 2005 in Guseo, at the venue now called Soul Art & Film Institute Lab. Its aim was to be a vitalizing force in Busan’s cultural life, and to promote and support Korean artists. The state-of-the-art gallery space at Marine City was opened in 2010, and provides an opportunity for visitors to enjoy both cutting-edge contemporary art and the area’s seafront beauty.
© Johyun Gallery
Originally located in Gwangalli Beach, the Johyun Gallery was founded by Jo Hyun in 1990, under the name Gallery World. It moved to Haeundae in 1999, and in 2007 moved to Dalmaji Hill’s arty hub where it is now one of Busan’s best-established commercial galleries. Johyun represents many well-known Korean and international contemporary artists such as Nam June Paik, Julian Opie and Georges Rousse, and presents carefully curated exhibitions of sculpture, painting, installation and design. The gallery recently opened a second location in Seoul, and has been expanding its international reputation.
This sleek, industrial-chic gallery is located in downtown Nampo-dong. Gallery 604 showcases work by various Korean and international artists — expect names such as Shim Moon Seup, Yoko Ukita, Zhang Xiaogang and Philippe Pasqua. The gallery spans two floors, and its exhibitions are small but perfectly formed. It sometimes runs events such as artist talks.
