“Every orthodontist, podiatrist, whoever: everyone seems to be collecting [art],” says Korean American gallerist Esther Kim Varet of the mushrooming South Korean art scene. “It’s incredibly robust.” Varet opened a branch of her Los Angelesoriginated gallery, Various Small Fires (VSF), in Seoul in 2018, and was taken aback by the response it received. “I was anticipating a slow growth when I opened the space four years ago, but collecting has gone so mainstream in South Korea.”
For Varet, establishing a presence in Seoul felt like a natural move: she spoke the language and was familiar with the city and its culture. Moreover, her programme lent itself well to cross-cultural collaboration, as it primarily features American and Korean contemporary artists—a solo exhibition featuring the work of US artist Diedrick Brackens is currently on view at VSF Seoul. However, there has been a proliferation of well-established, blue-chip international galleries opening outposts across Seoul in recent years. While Varet’s operation has garnered acclaim, it’s considerably smaller than the likes of Perrotin, Peres Projects, Lehmann Maupin, Pace, Gladstone, Thaddaeus Ropac and König, all of whom have claimed a stake
