Frieze Seoul 2025

APALAZZOGALLERY and MAKE ROOM present a collaborative booth displaying eight artists across generations: Aleza Zheng, Hammzat Tahabsim, linn meyers, Pia Ortuño, Yiyi Bai, Xin Liu, Ibrahim Mahama, Nathalie Du Pasquier, and Luc Ming Yan. This marks the first collaboration between the two female-led galleries with a shared curatorial vision and conceptual thesis. Together, they are working towards the  goal of creating space in the art world for disenfranchised communities and those who have traditionally been overlooked.

Central to the show are linn meyers drawings on graph paper, which explore the synchronicity of the natural world and aesthetic beauty. They find a balance between scientific documentation and artistic expression. This interest is shared in Xin Liu’s Cry:0 series—sculpture framed in precision aluminum, with silicone and bronze, animated by a custom cooling system that blurs flesh and machine. In contrast, Pia Ortuño’s new abstraction conjures a scorched landscape through chiselled pigment, rusted metal, and marble dust. She uses an elemental palette rooted in Costa Rican heritage and haunted by loss and transformation. These artists who investigate the detailed process of science are placed against the exploration of culture and personal narrative.

Mahama's installations create a common focal point. The fabric works, composed of used jute sacks sewn together, bring attention to recurring themes in the Ghanaian artist: phenomenon of globalisation and migration and the trade in goods and their far-reaching consequences. Du Pasquier's abstract oils, which can exist as objects, space, or environments respectively, focus on the reinterpretation of ordinary objects. Yan’s vibrant figurative works are displayed in a softly lit, contrasting section, their ephemeral imagery drawing viewers into a more intimate visual experience.

The presentation unites artists whose practices converge around themes of personal identity, the mundane, and collective history.  From Yiyi Bai’s contorting natural forms to Liu’s genetic explorations and Mahama’s community-driven installations, each artist creates active works that engage with the world around them from their own unique perspective.