The annual ArtReview's Power 100 announced this year's list, naming four Korean figures in weighing up who is the most influential in the contemporary art world.

The British independent art magazine named Doryun Chong, deputy director and chief curator of Hong Kong's M+ museum, at 59th, along with the museum's director Suhanya Raffel.

Chong studied art history and earned his doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He worked at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and was the associate curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, before heading to Hong Kong. He was also the consulting curator for the Hong Kong Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale.

The M+ museum experienced some delays in construction and is now scheduled to be completed by 2019, but the museum's base Sigg collection has grown to over 6,000 pieces, making it the largest collection of modern and contemporary Chinese art in the world.

Kim Sun-jung, the new president of the Gwangju Bienniale Foundation, was named 72nd, re-entering the list after a brief disappearance in 2016. The veteran curator is also director of the Artsonje Center and has headed many international projects and exhibitions including the Real DMZ Project and Gwangju Biennale in 2012.

Lee Hyun-sook, founder and CEO of Kukje Gallery, was listed 79th, two down from last year's 77th. Still she is one of the most important gallerists in Korea as well as internationally. Her gallery took part in 14 art fairs this year and promoted Korean artists such as Yang Hae-gue and Park Chan-kyong as well as the Dansaekhwa (Korean monochrome painting) movement.

The 2017 ArtReview Power 100 has more philosophical artists on its list, not just commercial gallery owners, expensive artists and big-name collectors.

This year's most influential spot went to Berlin-based artist Hito Steyerl, who is the first female artist to top the list and the third as an artist.

Among Korean artists, Yang Hae-gue was listed in 85th, making an entry to the list. Yang is known for her works adding new layers of meaning onto ordinary objects such as Venetian blinds and artificial straw. She spent a busy year exhibiting her works all around the globe from Mexico to Germany.

Kwon Mee-yoo / The Korea Times

 

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2017/11/691_238844.html