A special exhibition of art for child care and prenatal education is being held for the first time in Korea, drawing public attention.

BeFe Baby Fair, Asia's first and Korea's largest annual birth and childcare fair, is holding a special art exhibition at COEX in Seoul until the 18th to celebrate its 45th anniversary this year.

This special exhibition has been prepared by SayArt, a global English-language news outlet, and ISB, a leading Korean exhibition planning company, with support from BeFe, and is showcasing over 70 works by 12 famous Korean artists at 15 booths in Hall B of COEX.
 

▲ Park Geonu, (7 years old, Neptune) [SayArt]SayArt reported that the works put on stage are mainly selected to enhance children's emotions and imagination and help mothers with prenatal education in accordance with the purpose of the exhibition, which is specialized for child care and childbirth.

In particular, various events are being held, including a program by JiEuno, which receives CT images of fetuses from mothers who wish to create them as files, and an on-site sketch by 7-year-old artist Park Geonu, (7 years old, Neptune).

First of all, the zone that catches the eye is the Neptune zone of Park Geonu, a 7-year-old little artist who grew up drawing since he was a child and is now a full-fledged artist. This is a space where you can see various paintings, including figures of the character ‘Mog’ created by Park in collaboration with artist Hyeyoung Woo
▲ JiEuno, The universe in me, pigment print on canvas, 60X60, 2024 [SayArt]

Another unique zone is the space decorated by JiEuno. The title of her work is ‘The Universe In Me’. In this space, JiEuno is showing various works that sublimate the ultrasound images of womb into her works.

She said with emotion, "I think that turning a child's fetal ultrasound image into a work of art is actually collaborating with a child about to enter the world. The work itself is life, and my heart beats every time I think about it."

In this zone, especially if a mother who visits the booth provides artist with an ultrasound photo of hr fetus, she can receive the 'The Universe In Me', which is later sublimated into artist’s unique work.

In the remaining space, dozens of works by famous artists in Korea that can have a positive effect on prenatal education and childcare are presented to the audience.
 

▲ (Left) KIM MANHEE, Journey Santiago De Compostele, Acrylic on Canvas, 45×45, 2017-2 (Middle) Stonie Kang, Waltz of Flowers 2, Acrylic on canvas, 100x80cm, 2024 (Right) LEE MOK IL, Offset, 75.5x55, E.d.5075, 2004 (Bottom right) Jeon Hyuck Lim, edition print, offset, 54X43, 2006 [SayArt]You can enjoy the unique abstract works of KIM MANHEE, famous for ‘The Man New York Loved’ and ‘The Scientist with a Brush’. You can also see the works of Stonie Kang, another Korean abstract painter, who is drawing attention for his unique techniques, such as geometric abstraction, of flowers and window-like figures.

About 10 works by LEE MOK IL, whose name has been talked about in the world art world for a while after golf emperor Tiger Woods purchased dozens of his ‘tiger paintings’, are also attracting the audience.

Works by the late Jeon Hyuck Lim, who was called Korea's Picasso, are also on stage. His works introduced in this exhibition are prints of works included in 'Poetry and Picture Book', published in collaboration with famous Korean poet Kim Chun-soo in 2006.

▲ Oh Young, Upward Walk, 73x50cm, pencil on paper, 2018 [SayArt]OHYOUNG's works, which sublimate various meanings felt from life experiences with others, into works, and an art work by Professor MaKwangSoo, who sparked a controversy over 'between art and obscenity' in Korea decades ago, also is on stage. In particular, although he was a very famous professor and writer, most Koreans do not know that he was active as a painter, so this exhibition has a great impact.

The audience are able to see sculptures by KIM WONGEUN, who is famous in Korea for his comical-looking sculptures of 'gangster in love', and props by LEE TAERYANG, who is famous as an abstract artist in Korea, with the theme of “propositional form”.

▲ (left) CHOI JEONG YUN, The flesh of passage, pigment print on canvas, Ed, 40x40, 2024 (middle) LEE KYUNGHOON, Time of the wind, pencil, oil on linen, 53x41 (No. 10), 2021 (right) Kim In, No reason, canvas acrylic, 27.3x34.8 (No. 5), 2022There are also sculptures that make the exhibition space special. These are the formative works of CHOI JEONG YUN, who are more famous overseas than in Korea. He creates sculptures using swords, flowers, and thread to spatially express human power and desire. In this exhibition, canvas works made by taking photos of his works and making them into prints are also hung on the walls of the exhibition hall.

LEE KYUNGHOON's work, which expresses the emotions of fading memories in everyday life with warm colors, and 'Pink Punch' by Kim In, famous in Korea as a steady seller, also visits the exhibition hall.

Maria Kim, CEO of SayArt, said, “A child is ‘another universe. believe that there is no influence as good as art on the birth and growth of a child.” In addition, CEO Ahn Sang-young of ISB, a co-promoter, said, “This art exhibition will not only further enhance the quality of BeFe, but also provide a general exhibition in the future. I think it will be a good opportunity for planners to benchmark,” he said.

SayArt is a global English-language news outlet that has been widely publicizing Korean art at major art fairs around the world, such as Frieze and ArtBasel. And is Korea's top exhibition design company and has been leading world-class exhibitions for decades.
The ‘BeFe’ art special exhibition continues until Sunday at COEX Hall B in Seoul.

Sayart / Jason Yim, yimjongho1969@gmail.com