Galleries continue to bank on Asia as Peres Projects opens in Seoul and Hauser & Wirth expands Hong Kong space

Peres Projects gallery—a participant at the Art Basel in Hong Kong fair this week—is opening a second space in Seoul next month, further cementing the South Korean capital as a key art market hub in the region.

The new gallery, due to launch in late April, will be housed across four floors in a building located in the Sagan-dong neighbourhood close to institutions such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Three exhibition spaces will be spread over the first and second floors of the new gallery.

“We need more space to accommodate our artists,” says Javier Peres, the gallery’s founder. “There is also a big collector base in Seoul and a boom in private museums which means there is a lot of room for content.” Peres Projects opened its first gallery, a smaller venue in The Shilla Seoul hotel, last April; it also runs galleries in Berlin and Milan.

The launch of the new space will be marked by two shows including an exhibition of works by the London-based artist Cece Philips. The second show, an extensive group presentation, includes works by artists such as Emily Ludwig Shaffer and Rafa Silvares.

Other Art Basel in Hong Kong participating galleries are also bolstering their presence in Asia. Hauser & Wirth is moving out of its current venue on the 15th and 16th floors of H Queen’s tower in Hong Kong and is relocating to a ground-floor block—refurbished by Selldorf Architects—at the junction of Ice House Street and Duddell Street. Marc Payot, the gallery’s president, says in a statement that “the move to a new site comes at a time when we look forward to deepening our connections in the region”.

Tang Contemporary Art—which runs galleries in Beijing, Hong Kong and Seoul—also plans to add another space to its roster in Singapore, a move confirmed by Charlotte Lin, marketing manager. The new gallery is due to open later this year.