"Turning the City into an Exhibition Space... Urban Break is a New Concept Art Playground"

'Urban Break Art Asia' at COEX from 12th to 15th... First Exhibition of Original Works by Street Artists

Banksy 'Flower Thrower'
Photo by Urban Break

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The original works of Banksy, the faceless street artist, will be exhibited in Korea for the first time. This will take place at 'Urban Break Art Asia,' held at COEX from the 12th to the 15th. Urban Break is a new-concept art fair that introduces various artistic activities using modern urban spaces such as graffiti as exhibition venues.

Jang Won-cheol, the Urban Break executive committee chairman, explained that it actually aims for more than just an art fair. "We used the term 'art fair' because otherwise people might be confused about what this is. The main tagline is an art playground, a street museum presenting a new paradigm for the art market."

Banksy is the top star of contemporary street art. In 2018, he gained attention by shredding his own painting 'Girl with Balloon,' which had been sold at Sotheby's London auction for 1.04 million pounds (about 1.5 billion KRW), using a shredder. Recently, he has been continuously highlighted by the media as he leaves various murals across the UK.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, who is currently having a retrospective exhibition at Lotte Museum, is considered a pioneer of street art. In the 1980s, he left graffiti-like paintings on the streets and building walls of New York, earning the nickname "Black Picasso."

Urban Break started in 2018 and is now in its third year. Until last year, the event was held under the name Art Asia, but going forward, it plans to use the name Urban Break. This year, due to sudden changes, the name Art Asia was appended to avoid confusion. Chairman Jang explained, "The word 'Break' contains two meanings: rest and breaking the existing framework."

Jang Won-cheol, Chairman of the Urban Break Steering Committee

Products currently attracting attention from young collectors, such as sneakers and art toys, will also be introduced. Chairman Jang said, "The culture of the younger generation must newly combine with the art market for it to expand and grow," adding, "We want to broaden the concept of collecting beyond traditional fine art."

Typically, an art fair means a marketplace where galleries set up booths to attract visitors and sell artworks. However, at Urban Break, not only galleries but also artists and brands like sneaker companies set up booths.

"There are not many galleries dealing with urban art, so there are not many artists affiliated with galleries. Many artists set up booths independently. However, many existing galleries find it interesting and fresh and show interest because they know this market is growing overseas."

Chairman Jang revealed, "Originally, we wanted to move beyond exhibition halls to show various real street arts, but it was canceled due to COVID-19." He added, "Next year, we will show real street art," and said, "I will ask companies if they can provide building exteriors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.