GET READY FOR THE RETURN OF ART ONO 2026, A MULTI-LAYERED ART PLATFORM BRINGING TOGETHER LEADING GALLERIES AND INSTITUTIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO SEOUL
TEXT: SARUNKORN ARTHAN
PHOTO COURTESY OF ART ONO
(For Thai, press here)
Beyond its global reputation for music, film, and television, South Korea is increasingly emerging as one of Asia’s new centers of contemporary art. This has been made possible by a notably robust ecosystem, anchored by globally recognized institutions such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) and sustained by a year-round calendar of events including FRIEZE Seoul, the Gwangju Design Biennale, and the Busan Sea Art Festival. ART OnO belongs to this wider momentum, but does so with a distinctly younger pulse.
Returning this April for its third edition under the same guiding phrase, ‘Art One and Only,’ the fair continues to define itself through differentiation, positioning itself as a multi-layered art platform. One of the key ambitions of this year’s edition lies in its effort to unsettle the familiar divide between the commercial art world and non-profit institutions. To that end, ART OnO brings together prominent organizations, including SONGEUN, Jeonnam Museum of Art, and Beijing’s X Museum, to exhibit alongside leading galleries, opening up a richer and more probing conversation than that typically found at a conventional art fair.
Tulsi Patel, Chaos Births Creation IV, 2025 (Rangi Gallery)
Kawauchi Rikako, Jaguar of the Sky, 2026 | Gana Art
Kim Jiseon, Do not Leave, 2022 | SONGEUN
Among the gallery presentations, this year’s highlights include works from regions still rarely encountered within Asian art-fair circuits. Rangi Gallery from Tanzania introduces contemporary African art in a context where it is seldom seen, while JECZA Gallery from Romania brings an Eastern European perspective into dialogue with Asian audiences. The fair also features a number of internationally noted artists, among them Kawauchi Rikako (Gana Art), whose paintings register the charge of sensory perception; Kim Jiseon and Ahn Jungju (SONGEUN), whose practices explore the thresholds of media and space; and the emerging digital artist Rui Huang (X Museum).
Beyond the fair itself, ART OnO extends into a broader and more diverse cultural program. Its ‘Talk Program’ moves across disciplines, opening conversations around the relationships between art, food, and film. ‘OnO Bus’ offers guided routes into artist studios and galleries across Seoul, while the special program ‘ART OnO in Jeju’ invites visitors to engage more closely with the island’s own art ecosystem.
ART OnO 2026 takes place from April 3 to 5, 2026, 11:00–19:00 (except on the final day, which ends at 18:00), at the Seoul Trade Exhibition & Convention (SETEC) in Gangnam, Seoul.
Tickets are currently available through the fair’s official booking channels. https://booking.naver.com/booking/12/bizes/1096233