SEOUL (Taiwan News) — The third edition of Art Ono at the SETEC Exhibition Center is challenging the traditional commercial art fair model.
By integrating private collections with non-profit, museum-grade booths, the fair seeks to bridge the gap between the marketplace and academia.
The fair’s name, short for "art one and only," reflects the vision of founder Jae Myung Noh. In a global art calendar crowded with mega-fairs, Noh designed Art Ono as a multidimensional platform where commercial galleries and academic institutions coexist.
This model offers a more comprehensive view of the contemporary art ecosystem than a standard trade show.
The venue prioritizes a sense of breathability. While typical fairs host hundreds of exhibitors, Art Ono curated a tight selection of 35 galleries and institutions from 12 countries.
Unlike the standard open-application process, Art Ono is invitation-only. Every gallery is handpicked by Noh.
Exhibitors said that the founder engages in a consultative process, suggesting specific artists, mediums, and scales tailored to the Korean market.
Gallery owners said this "precision navigation" reduces the financial risk of international exhibiting — a strategy that paid off for Artemin Gallery, the sole representative from Taiwan this year.
The booth’s centerpiece, miniature paintings by artist Zupancic Yuri, became a focal point. Zupancic uses a single eyelash as a brush to render intricate scenes on tiny silicon chips.
The works saw immediate market success. On the first day of the VIP preview, wall-mounted pieces sold out within minutes.
Despite the fair's smaller scale, exhibitors expressed confidence in the turnout. They attributed the success to an audience composed primarily of Noh’s long-term network of collectors and art professionals.
This trust-based environment shifts the fair’s tone from a noisy market to a private art salon.
Noh said he does not intend to expand to hundreds of booths. He aims to maintain a size that visitors can experience fully without fatigue.
He views the fair as a transmission of experience, where non-profit initiatives from the Song Eun Art and Cultural Foundation and the Jeonnam Museum of Art add value beyond simple transactions.
This focus on accessibility is echoed by international exhibitors. Jeffrey Rosen, co-founder of Tokyo-based Misako and Rosen, noted that while Seoul collectors are curious and open, they have specific aesthetic preferences.
Rosen observed that local buyers often prefer approachable, small-scale works over grand or heavy themes. He cited a ceramic owl sculpture sold at a previous Seoul event as an example of the warm art that builds trust between international galleries and local collectors.
Following this trend, Rosen promoted works by artist Will Rogan. The presentation included a series of artist newspapers and a photograph, priced at approximately US$250 (NT$7,876).
Rosen called the low-priced edition a "gift" to the local audience to lower the barrier to entry for new collectors. Rogan’s wooden sculptures, made from reclaimed materials like his former houseboat and university library archives, offer a quiet, humanistic perspective.
Nicolas Krupp, a gallery from Basel, Switzerland, provided an avant-garde contrast. The gallery presented work by the pioneering internet-art duo Monica Studer and Christoph van den Berg.
The duo, active since the early 1990s, showed computer-generated animations that use software to ensure no two viewers see the same image. Krupp said the work explores "what AI might look like if it goes to extremes," reflecting on technological anxiety.
The fair also emphasized cross-cultural inclusivity, hosting galleries rarely seen in Asian circuits, including Tanzania’s Rangi Gallery, Jecza Gallery from Romania, and Makasiini Contemporary from Finland.
The third edition of Art Ono. (Taiwan News, Lyla Liu video)
