▲ Choi Goen, Photo by Kanghyuk Lee 

Choi Goen, a 39-year-old artist known for creating installations using industrial materials such as exhaust pipes, has been announced as the winner of the Artist Award at the Frieze Seoul art fair held at COEX in Seoul.

On the 24th, Frieze Seoul revealed that Choi Goen's works 'White Home Wall: Welcome' and 'Gloria' have been selected as the winning pieces for the Artist Award. The Frieze Artist Award, supported by Bulgari, offers emerging or mid-career artists the opportunity to present new works at the Frieze Seoul fair held in September. Choi's award-winning pieces explore the materiality of technology in a digitally saturated world.

▲ White Home Wall, 2018, 180x1100x8(cm). Standing Air conditioner. On display in ‘Point Counter Point,’ 2018, Art Sonje Center, Seoul, South Korea. Courtesy of Art Sonje Center

Choi Goen transforms discarded industrial materials, such as recycled exhaust pipes and air conditioner parts, into large-scale installations. These materials, reborn as artworks, not only express the hidden infrastructure of the vast digital world but also evoke the complex ecosystems of materials embedded in urban environments.

The artist's works will be showcased from September 4th to 7th at the Frieze Seoul 2024, held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul. The installation will be featured within the exhibition booth of Frieze Seoul 2024, treating the exhibition space as a temporary, large-scale technological medium.

▲ Choi Goen, Gloria, 2023, exhibition view. Bronze plated on stainless steel pipe, artificial marble, 1.3 × 1.2 × 1.4 m. Courtesy of the artist

The winners of the Frieze Artist Award are selected by a panel of judges active in the art world. This year's panel included Chung Seong-ah (Curator at the Leeum Museum of Art), Jeon Jonnho (Artist), Kim Sung-woo (Curator and Director at Primary Practice), and Yung Ma (Senior Curator at the Hayward Gallery).

Frieze launched its artist award program in 2014 with its London fair; past winners of that award include Rachel Rose, Alberta Whittle, Sung Tieu, and Abbas Zahedi. It also staged one for its New York fair in 2018, 2019, and 2021. The winners during those years were Kapwani Kiwanga, Lauren Halsey, and Precious Okoyomon, respectively.

▲ Choi Goen, Trophy, 2022, exhibition view. Brass pipe, 160 × 70 × 160 cm. Courtesy of Amado Art Space

This is the second time Frieze has awarded a prize through its Seoul fair. The first Seoul winner was Woo Hannah, whose installation 'The Great Ballroom' received international acclaim.

In a statement, Frieze Seoul director Patrick Lee said, “With the Frieze Artist Awards in both Seoul and London spotlighting advanced technologies this year, it will be fascinating to see how two artists interpret this concept differently. Our heartfelt congratulations to Choi Goen, a highly respected figure in Korea’s art scene. We are privileged to showcase artists of Goen’s caliber at Frieze Seoul, and eagerly anticipate our audience discovering more about her remarkable work.”

Sayart / Nao Yim, yimnao@naver.com