Blog

Jun 14, 2024

Teo YOO’s Top Picks from Frieze Seoul Viewing Room 2023

The actor selects a moving group of works by international icons including Carl Andre and Tony Cragg, and Asian talents such as Prae Pupityastaporn and Yooyun YANG PETER STICHBURY Omni, 2023 Oil on

The actor selects a moving group of works by international icons including Carl Andre and Tony Cragg, and Asian talents such as Prae Pupityastaporn and Yooyun YANG

PETER STICHBURY Omni, 2023 Oil on linen 30.31" x 23.62" (77 cm x 60 cm) Presented by Gallery Baton

CARL ANDRE Belgica Tin Quad, Brussels, 1990 Pure tin and Belgian blue limestone 5.87" x 23.54" x 23.54" (14.9 cm x 59.8 cm x 59.8 cm) Presented by Paula Cooper Gallery

PRAE PUPITYASTAPORN Afternoon Recollection, 2023 Acrylic on canvas 18.5" x 23.62" x 1.57" (47 cm x 60 cm x 4 cm) Presented by Nova Contemporary

TONY CRAGG Points of View, 2014 Bronze 36.61" x 19.69" x 19.69" (93 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm) Presented by Lisson Gallery

YOOYUN YANG Layer, 2023Acrylic on handmade Korean paper 63.82" x 88.07" x 1.93" (162.1 cm x 223.7 cm x 4.9 cm) Presented by Stephen Friedman Gallery

TEO YOO EXPLAINS HIS SELECTION PROCESS

When I was being confronted with the task of selecting five artworks for the Frieze Seoul Viewing Room for Frieze Seoul 2023, I was naturally posing one question towards myself:

How can a layman like me, do the almost impossible task of filtering down five works from all the contemporary art of the world today?

I refrained from finding solace in my usual comfort zone: subjective authenticity and emotional truth. As a side-effect of my work, I tend to see things as a harmony, as part of a whole, as a curation with an emotional thoroughfare.

Being a performing artist myself, my current state of mind, a trending zeitgeist and my hobbies may have an effect on my selection.

Themes of key interest are melancholy, piercing emotional resonance and the search for virtue through confrontation of my shadows.

The German word for profession, “Beruf,” derives from the word “Ruf,” to call. My work is my calling. Meine Berufung. The grammatical structure for the cultural logic behind the word gives way to the myth of being chosen by a higher, spiritual power, if one believes in such a construct. So, I was listening to artworks that were calling to me.

I picked 75 initial Artworks from which I have selected these essential five.

I would also like to share two galleries I have discovered, DASTAN Gallery and Gallery 1957, for their excellent selections.

I hope you will be moved.

ABOUT TEO YOO

Teo Yoo is an actor who can be seen as the lead character, Hae Sung, in A24’s critically acclaimed film Past Lives, which was invited to 2023’s Berlin Film Festival Competition and premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Past credits include the feature film Leto, which premiered in Competition at 2018’s Cannes Film Festival and the Netflix Original Rom-Com Love to Hate You.

Frieze Viewing Room is a free digital platform connecting global audiences with Frieze’s galleries and artists.

Opening to all from August 30-September 12, the Viewing Room is the catalog for Frieze Seoul 2023 and offers visitors a preview of the wealth of gallery presentations coming to the fair, as well as the chance for audiences around the world to experience and acquire the artwork on show.

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Frieze Seoul returns to COEX from September 6–9, 2023. Discover the best art from more than 120 leading galleries from across Asia and beyond. Located in the Gangnam district in the heart of Seoul, the fair runs alongside Kiaf SEOUL, South Korea’s leading art fair.

Become a member now to enjoy VIP access, multi-day entry, exclusive guided tours and more.

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Frieze Seoul is supported by official headline partner LG OLED, in a collaboration that brings together the worlds of art and technology, and by global lead partner Deutsche Bank, continuing two decades of shared commitment to artistic excellence.

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