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In Seoul, the Art World Gets Back to Business In Seoul, the Art World Gets Back to Business
(2 months later)
SEOUL — “I wouldn’t say things are totally back to normal,” explained Passion Lim, taking in the scene on Thursday at the opening for Billy Childish paintings at the Lehmann Maupin gallery. “But it’s a start,” he added.SEOUL — “I wouldn’t say things are totally back to normal,” explained Passion Lim, taking in the scene on Thursday at the opening for Billy Childish paintings at the Lehmann Maupin gallery. “But it’s a start,” he added.
Indeed, if you ignored the face masks on about half the attending crowd, it might have been opening night at a blue-chip art gallery anywhere — anywhere before the coronavirus pandemic, that is. Now, as a steady stream of Mercedes sedans pulled up to the valet, disgorging their fashion-forward passengers, South Korea’s return to business as usual seemed almost surreal.Indeed, if you ignored the face masks on about half the attending crowd, it might have been opening night at a blue-chip art gallery anywhere — anywhere before the coronavirus pandemic, that is. Now, as a steady stream of Mercedes sedans pulled up to the valet, disgorging their fashion-forward passengers, South Korea’s return to business as usual seemed almost surreal.
Elsewhere around the world, art galleries and museums remain shuttered, hemorrhaging staff and plaintively asking, What will it take to reopen? And just as crucially, What will this new art world look like? Seoul, a dense metropolis with a population of nearly 10 million but only two coronavirus deaths to date, is offering one possible answer.Elsewhere around the world, art galleries and museums remain shuttered, hemorrhaging staff and plaintively asking, What will it take to reopen? And just as crucially, What will this new art world look like? Seoul, a dense metropolis with a population of nearly 10 million but only two coronavirus deaths to date, is offering one possible answer.
Mr. Lim had already been to three other gallery openings the previous night in the art-centric Samcheong-dong neighborhood. Having worked from home since February, he was now embracing flexible shelter-in-place guidelines with a vengeance. Social distancing edicts remain in place until May 5, with major museums closed until May 7 and the resumption of school still on hold. But people are starting to refill Seoul’s streets — some skittish, others bounding down the sidewalks.Mr. Lim had already been to three other gallery openings the previous night in the art-centric Samcheong-dong neighborhood. Having worked from home since February, he was now embracing flexible shelter-in-place guidelines with a vengeance. Social distancing edicts remain in place until May 5, with major museums closed until May 7 and the resumption of school still on hold. But people are starting to refill Seoul’s streets — some skittish, others bounding down the sidewalks.
“It doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable being around people because I trust the government’s response to the virus,” Mr. Lim said as he made his way through the crowd of about 50 inside the gallery’s two-story, 3,200-square-foot space. He pointed to South Korean policies that have come to be seen as an international model: government-supplied N95-grade masks for everyone, comprehensive testing, thorough contact tracing of the infected, and immediate isolation of anyone exposed to an infected person.“It doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable being around people because I trust the government’s response to the virus,” Mr. Lim said as he made his way through the crowd of about 50 inside the gallery’s two-story, 3,200-square-foot space. He pointed to South Korean policies that have come to be seen as an international model: government-supplied N95-grade masks for everyone, comprehensive testing, thorough contact tracing of the infected, and immediate isolation of anyone exposed to an infected person.
Here at Lehmann Maupin, a gallery attendant dutifully took down the name, address and phone number of everyone who came through the front door — just in case someone at the opening later found out they had been exposed to the virus. Yet with the daily national infection rate having fallen to single digits, Mr. Lim appeared downright blasé about any remaining risks. His mask was pulled down below his chin; others in the crowd offhandedly explained that their masks were in their cars.Here at Lehmann Maupin, a gallery attendant dutifully took down the name, address and phone number of everyone who came through the front door — just in case someone at the opening later found out they had been exposed to the virus. Yet with the daily national infection rate having fallen to single digits, Mr. Lim appeared downright blasé about any remaining risks. His mask was pulled down below his chin; others in the crowd offhandedly explained that their masks were in their cars.
Mr. Lim was far more concerned that his full name might appear in a newspaper article about wealthy art collectors. Given his China-focused technology business, he was wary of attracting attention from Beijing. (Passion is the first name Mr. Lim uses online when chatting about culture.) “Now is actually a good time to see if you can buy art,” he continued, “because collectors around the world having a hard time have put forward quite good art pieces into the market at cheap prices.”Mr. Lim was far more concerned that his full name might appear in a newspaper article about wealthy art collectors. Given his China-focused technology business, he was wary of attracting attention from Beijing. (Passion is the first name Mr. Lim uses online when chatting about culture.) “Now is actually a good time to see if you can buy art,” he continued, “because collectors around the world having a hard time have put forward quite good art pieces into the market at cheap prices.”
Back in New York City, Lehmann Maupin’s co-founder, Rachel Lehmann, said she was painfully aware of the market dynamic. The gallery’s Hong Kong branch had reopened, but its flagship Manhattan locations had been closed since March 13. With sales there reduced to a crawl, she said she had been forced to institute salary cuts and furloughs among its 36 staffers. Still, having worked as an art dealer for several decades and weathered a string of recessions, she took the long view: This too shall pass.Back in New York City, Lehmann Maupin’s co-founder, Rachel Lehmann, said she was painfully aware of the market dynamic. The gallery’s Hong Kong branch had reopened, but its flagship Manhattan locations had been closed since March 13. With sales there reduced to a crawl, she said she had been forced to institute salary cuts and furloughs among its 36 staffers. Still, having worked as an art dealer for several decades and weathered a string of recessions, she took the long view: This too shall pass.
“It’s what I have seen happening in 2008, and after 9/11, and even earlier, at the end of the ’70s in Europe,” she said. In fact, Asia was already rebounding. Her Seoul branch, which opened in 2017, already accounted for 20 to 25 percent of Lehmann Maupin’s total revenue before the pandemic. Now, after an initial pause, many of Seoul’s moneyed collectors have re-entered the fray.“It’s what I have seen happening in 2008, and after 9/11, and even earlier, at the end of the ’70s in Europe,” she said. In fact, Asia was already rebounding. Her Seoul branch, which opened in 2017, already accounted for 20 to 25 percent of Lehmann Maupin’s total revenue before the pandemic. Now, after an initial pause, many of Seoul’s moneyed collectors have re-entered the fray.
Ms. Lehmann noted that Korea-based artists like Lee Bul and Su Se Ok had long been represented by her gallery in New York. But establishing a more public footprint reflected the growing number of Korean contemporary art collectors. The similarly high-powered Pace and Perrotin galleries, based in New York and Paris, had also recently opened Seoul branches — as had the scrappier Los Angeles-based Various Small Fires. All are now competing for Korea’s art dollars with the country’s homegrown galleries.Ms. Lehmann noted that Korea-based artists like Lee Bul and Su Se Ok had long been represented by her gallery in New York. But establishing a more public footprint reflected the growing number of Korean contemporary art collectors. The similarly high-powered Pace and Perrotin galleries, based in New York and Paris, had also recently opened Seoul branches — as had the scrappier Los Angeles-based Various Small Fires. All are now competing for Korea’s art dollars with the country’s homegrown galleries.
Accordingly, Ms. Lehmann said, she selected Billy Childish for this angst-ridden moment. “The people I’m talking with are looking for something really real, really true, not fabricated,” she explained, describing a newfound hunger for emotionally resonant work which could serve as a “survival kit.”Accordingly, Ms. Lehmann said, she selected Billy Childish for this angst-ridden moment. “The people I’m talking with are looking for something really real, really true, not fabricated,” she explained, describing a newfound hunger for emotionally resonant work which could serve as a “survival kit.”
Updated June 24, 2020
Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles.
A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico.
The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth.
The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave.
So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
Mr. Childish’s canvases, with forceful brushwork evoking the psychologically loaded landscapes of Vincent van Gogh, and his no less expressive portraiture nodding to Edvard Munch, certainly fit that bill. By last Friday afternoon, according to the gallery, four of the seven Childish paintings at the Seoul opening had already sold for approximately $24,000 to $33,000 each, to three buyers in South Korea and one who lives in the United States. (Mr. Childish’s record at auction is $56,250 at Christie’s in 2018, according to Artnet.)Mr. Childish’s canvases, with forceful brushwork evoking the psychologically loaded landscapes of Vincent van Gogh, and his no less expressive portraiture nodding to Edvard Munch, certainly fit that bill. By last Friday afternoon, according to the gallery, four of the seven Childish paintings at the Seoul opening had already sold for approximately $24,000 to $33,000 each, to three buyers in South Korea and one who lives in the United States. (Mr. Childish’s record at auction is $56,250 at Christie’s in 2018, according to Artnet.)
No one is more surprised by Mr. Childish’s art world trajectory than Mr. Childish himself. “It was an overnight success that only took 40 years,” the 60-year-old artist said playfully. Speaking by phone from his home in Rochester, England, he recalled being expelled from London’s prestigious Saint Martins School of Art in 1980 (when he still went by his birth name, Steven Hamper). Insisting on the need for classical figuration over abstraction, decrying conceptualism, and arguing for a working-class-centered radicalism in lieu of the identity politics then entering art theory, he had picked bitter fights with instructors and fellow students alike.No one is more surprised by Mr. Childish’s art world trajectory than Mr. Childish himself. “It was an overnight success that only took 40 years,” the 60-year-old artist said playfully. Speaking by phone from his home in Rochester, England, he recalled being expelled from London’s prestigious Saint Martins School of Art in 1980 (when he still went by his birth name, Steven Hamper). Insisting on the need for classical figuration over abstraction, decrying conceptualism, and arguing for a working-class-centered radicalism in lieu of the identity politics then entering art theory, he had picked bitter fights with instructors and fellow students alike.
“I was told my attitude, and the way I talked to other artists, and my opinion about art would mean I would never get anywhere in the art world,” he remembered with obvious relish. Though he never stopped painting, Mr. Childish became better known as a singer and guitarist with groups like Thee Headcoats, leading The New York Times to crown him “the reigning world champion of garage rock” in 1998.“I was told my attitude, and the way I talked to other artists, and my opinion about art would mean I would never get anywhere in the art world,” he remembered with obvious relish. Though he never stopped painting, Mr. Childish became better known as a singer and guitarist with groups like Thee Headcoats, leading The New York Times to crown him “the reigning world champion of garage rock” in 1998.
Mr. Childish also never stopped publicly railing against the gatekeepers of the contemporary art world, whether leading guerrilla-theater-styled protests outside the Tate Modern or crashing (and being physically ejected from) the museum’s Turner Prize celebration. Yet over the past decade he has oddly found himself feted by some of these same figures. “I just got lucky because people I knew 30 years ago came into some sort of position of power,” he said, referring to longtime supporters such as the curator Matthew Higgs and the Berlin dealer Tim Neuger. Nonetheless, he’s skeptical it augurs any broader back-to-basics art world shift. The only post-coronavirus change, he mused, might simply be a mass desire to look at artwork without having to sit in front of a screen.Mr. Childish also never stopped publicly railing against the gatekeepers of the contemporary art world, whether leading guerrilla-theater-styled protests outside the Tate Modern or crashing (and being physically ejected from) the museum’s Turner Prize celebration. Yet over the past decade he has oddly found himself feted by some of these same figures. “I just got lucky because people I knew 30 years ago came into some sort of position of power,” he said, referring to longtime supporters such as the curator Matthew Higgs and the Berlin dealer Tim Neuger. Nonetheless, he’s skeptical it augurs any broader back-to-basics art world shift. The only post-coronavirus change, he mused, might simply be a mass desire to look at artwork without having to sit in front of a screen.
That was certainly the spirit back at the Lehmann Maupin opening. “You have to see the paintings with your own eyes, especially if you are a collector like me,” insisted Soh Ji-hye, 31, who works in marketing. She was echoed by another young visitor, Park Jung-mi, 29, a retail saleswoman, who said she’d been cooped up since January. “But tonight I went out of my way to get out of the house,” she said. “Seeing the paintings directly is so different from seeing them online.”That was certainly the spirit back at the Lehmann Maupin opening. “You have to see the paintings with your own eyes, especially if you are a collector like me,” insisted Soh Ji-hye, 31, who works in marketing. She was echoed by another young visitor, Park Jung-mi, 29, a retail saleswoman, who said she’d been cooped up since January. “But tonight I went out of my way to get out of the house,” she said. “Seeing the paintings directly is so different from seeing them online.”
“Online sales? Not that effective,” said the gallery’s senior director, Son Emma, for whom the virus is increasingly in the rear-view mirror. As the last stragglers left, Ms. Son was already thinking ahead to managing new crises. She glanced down at her phone. “The exchange rate is not that bad,” she offered, brightening.“Online sales? Not that effective,” said the gallery’s senior director, Son Emma, for whom the virus is increasingly in the rear-view mirror. As the last stragglers left, Ms. Son was already thinking ahead to managing new crises. She glanced down at her phone. “The exchange rate is not that bad,” she offered, brightening.