By Honorary Reporter Ayushi Kharayat from India

KIAF (Korea International Art Fair) Seoul, the country's largest and longest-running international art fair, was held from Sept. 3-7 at COEX Mall in Seoul's Gangnam-gu District.

The event promotes promising artists who shape contemporary art. Each year, galleries nominate artists and a panel selects 10 whose works best reflect originality, experimentation and modern art. 

Kiaf Seoul 2025 (KIAF)

The following are excerpts from email interviews from Aug. 31 to Sept. 5 with three artists featured in the program KIAF Highlights: Park Noh-wan, Jo Eun-si and Geoffroy Pithon. 

Park Noh-wan (Space Willing N Dealing, Seoul)
Based in Seoul, Park earned his bachelor's in painting from Hongik University and master's in formative arts from Seoul National University of Science and Technology. He has taken part in group shows and held solo exhibitions at Space Willing N Dealing and Gallery Kiche in Seoul. 

Rather than faithfully reproducing a subject with watercolors, Park said he deliberately blurs boundaries and leaves traces of erasure to create a sense of unfamiliarity. 

At KIAF Seoul, he presented both new and old works. "For my newly created works, I paid attention to deepening the techniques I acquired through my previous work so that the stains and traces on the canvas could be effectively revealed," he said. 

From top left is artist Park Noh-wan photographed at his studio and his works "Fire Extinguishers" (top right), "Coconut and Watermelon" (bottom left), "Jewelry Store" (bottom second from left), "Cowboy 2" (bottom third from left) and "Untitled" (bottom right). (Park Noh-wan)

Underlying his creative choices are values rooted in the interplay between reality and experimentation in painting. "In my work, I focus on the points where the reality of the subject and my own painting attempts can coexist," he said. 

Jo Eun-si (Gallery Meme, Seoul)
Also a Seoul-based artist who studied Western painting at Ewha Womans University, Jo was selected for the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture's Young Artist Support Program and named one of 50 top contemporary Korean artists by Artifacts. 

On her participation in KIAF Highlights, she said, "This is my first art fair, I feel both nervous and excited, but I am truly honored to have been given such a valuable opportunity."

She said her work seeks to translate into painting global principles that cannot be controlled by humans, adding, "In modern society, we live either as a part of something larger or as a complete whole on our own." 

For KIAF Seoul, she showed a new series on the parts that make up a whole. Her works "Siblings Above and Siblings Below" explore cardinal and ordinal numbers and probability, using visual metaphors to probe the uncertainty of existence.

"More than 90 percent of my working process is spent on building ideas rather than the act of painting itself," she added.

Artist Jo Eun-si poses with her works at the studio and gallery including "Siblings Above and Siblings Below" (top left), "Four as One" (bottom center) and "From Floor to Chair" (bottom right). (Jo Eun-si)

Geoffroy Pithon (MAAT Gallery, Paris)
Based in Nantes, France, Pithon studied at the National School of Decorative Arts (Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs) in Paris and began his career as a graphic designer. He collaborated with global brands such as Hermes before transitioning into painting by layering hand-drawn images.

Pithon described his work as rooted in painting on paper, which allows a variety of approaches in contemporary art. For KIAF Seoul, he presented new works that marked a return to a more generous and vibrant color palette following a period dominated by red tones.

"I'm very grateful to the organizers and really happy for myself and the gallery," he said of his inclusion in KIAF Highlights.

French artist Geoffory Pithon poses next to his works "Vase aux Serpents" (top right) and "Vallon Pierre" (bottom right). (Geoffroy Pithon)

"In a way, artists are condemned to create, to keep pursuing a goal—even if that goal is often vague and elusive."

msjeon22@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.