ARCO PRESENTATION IN LONDON

ARCO PRESENTATION IN LONDON
Date: Thurs, 1st Feb 2007, 6pm

Location: Spanish Embassy, at 24 Belgrave Square, Chelsea, London

26th ARCO showcases innovative art projects with Korea as focus country

ARCO, the International Contemporary Art Fair, will present its 26th event in London on 1st February, at 6 pm. The Spanish Embassy, at 24 Belgrave Square, is the chosen venue for the presentation of the contents of the art fair, scheduled for 15th to 19th February 2007 in Madrid, featuring an exciting selection of galleries and a highly interesting exhibition programme. The guidelines for ARCO07 are, on one hand, a core of top names from the international art gallery circuit, ranging from the Historical Avant-gardes to Modern and Contemporary Art. On the other hand, there is a major focus on emerging art projects in a new section called Projects. Finally, Asian art will be prominent in this years programme, whose annual guest country is Korea, giving us an insight into whats happening artwise in that specific area of the world.

At the London presentation, ARCO will also underscore the participation of UK galleries this year. Eight galleries are showing in the fairs GENERAL PROGRAMME: BERNARD JACOBSON GALLERY (London), HAUNCH OF VENISON (London), INGLEBY GALLERY (Edinburgh), LISSON GALLERY (London), MICHAEL HOPPEN (London), KENNY SCHACHTER ROVE (London), MAX WIGRAM GALLERY (London) and THOMAS DANE GALLERY (London). LISSON is also participating in THE BLACK BOX, the section centring on new media and electronic art.
Focus on Korea
With Korea as this years guest country, ARCO is throwing a spotlight on one of the most exciting focal points of attraction in the art world today. With a project conceived by Jung-Wha Kim, director of Museums Korea of Seoul, and curated by Jeong Ah Shin, chief curator of Sungkok Art Museum and professor at Dongguk University, over fifteen Korean art practitioners, represented by galleries from that country, are bringing many interesting projects to the fair. The most widely recognised and thought-provoking Korean artists will be at ARCO presenting works ranging from traditional media to latest technologies. On view at the Korea at ARCO programme will be paintings, installations, videos, and electronic art. Equally wide-ranging are the themes and intentions, covering the span from aesthetic reflections to social issues. Similarly to other years, the guest country section is accompanied by a programme of tie-in exhibitions and cultural events in Madrid, rounding off the fairs overview of Korean art and culture. These events are brought together in the Korea Now programme, further highlighting the cultural role Korea plays in Spain in 2007.
Programme
ARCO07 will host 256 galleries, 85 from Spain and the remaining 171 from 30 countries around the world. A good sign of the changing face of ARCO can be seen in the large number of galleries, 56 in fact, attending ARCO for the first time.
New Section of Emerging Art
As a new feature for 2007, ARCO is presenting PROJECTS, a new section following ARCOs philosophy of curated programmes, aimed at presenting art works and projects chosen by independent curators and expressly conceived for the occasion. The mission of this section is to provide solid support for the production of alternative proposals within contemporary art. The selection on view at PROJECTS was made by a team of independent curators and the ARCO Organising Committee.

Thirty proposals were selected by Carol Lu, Chus Martínez, David Liss, Paola Santoscoy, Virginia Pérez Ratton, Fernando Cocchiarale, Moacir dos Anjos and Ricardo Resende, representing viewpoints from distinct locations in Europe and America. These include a total of 11 galleries from Brazil, the specific focus of three curators, also serving as a taster for Brazils turn as special guest country in 2008. Besides, there are a further 32 projects covering painting, photography, plus a special focus on videos, installations and electronic art.
The Black Box
New technologies, audiovisual media and electronic art will have their own space at THE BLACK BOX, a repeat programme that continues providing support, year after year, to electronic creation and experimental art, a platform opening up a wider space for this type of work within the broader art market. The curators Carolina Grau and Marc-Olivier Wahle selected nine European galleries to take part in this space. In 2007, the programme will be more strongly focused on professionals, hosting the BEEP Awards, while also normalising and encouraging video-collecting by corporate and institutional collections.
Guest Collectors Programme
The 26th ARCO will also host leading art magazines from all over the world, specialising in contemporary art. In turn, at ARCO07, institutions and corporations will continue playing a key role as both exhibitors and collectors. The art fair is taking steps toward reinforcing its role as a business platform and meeting point for the international contemporary art market, paying special attention to private, institutional and corporate collectors. Around 200 collectors from the five continents will arrive to Madrid as part of the Guest Collectors Programme. The fair opens exclusively to professional visitors on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th February, giving them time to preview all the works on display and make their purchases in a more exclusive and professional setting. This year, corporate collecting takes on a new dimension. A good example is the sponsorship by the automobile company Hyundai, part of the Bergé group, of this years VIP Room. The Bergé group has an impressive contemporary art collection, a selection of which will be on show in this room. Besides, the fact that Hyundai is a Korean brand further reinforces the Korean contingent as this years Guest Country at ARCO7.

For participating galleries list, please check www.arco.ifema.es