Why South Korean Collector JaeMyung Noh Set Up His Own Art Fair

JaeMyung Noh first started collecting among his classmates in high school. It was there, collecting edition prints and toys with his friends, that he discovered the tangible allure of art, a passion nurtured by his mother from an early age. Despite his initial childhood reluctance, visits to prominent museums like MoMA, the Guggenheim, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his mother laid the foundation for his enduring love of art.

Today, Noh collects with his wife, SoHyun Park, traveling to art capitals such as Miami, Hong Kong, Paris, Tokyo, and New York to peruse and purchase works. “My focus with our collection—my personal collection—is it’s young and international, and it’s young and fresh, so that is our slogan, ‘Young, Fresh, and Classy,’” Noh explained in an interview with Artsy. This mantra is the heart of his latest venture, an art fair inspired by his experience as a collector: Art OnO, meaning “One and Only.”

Art OnO is Noh’s response to the international attention Seoul’s thriving art scene has garnered, particularly since the inaugural Frieze Seoul three years ago. Motivated to nurture the local art community amid this global buzz, Noh designed a fair that facilitates dialogue between South Korean and international galleries. “I wanted to see the local artists, local galleries, and local art scene grow,” he said. After its VIP preview yesterday, Art OnO opens today through April 21st and welcomes about 40 galleries from 15 countries, including major galleries such as Berlin-founded Peres Projects and Hong Kong stalwart Pearl Lam Galleries alongside emerging tastemakers such as Seoul’s CYLINDER and Paris’s cadet capela.

“We mix up everything—we don’t divide sectors, we don’t have sections, so you’ll see everything in just one pot and some big names next to really young talents,” said Noh. Art OnO’s inaugural edition will take place at the SETEC center, located in the southeast corner of Seoul. The venue, which can accommodate up to 100 galleries, will provide ample space for each participating gallery.

Noh’s vision for Art OnO is tied to his journey as a collector, which began in a convivial, community-oriented environment. This early immersion into art collecting instilled in him a preference for a more approachable and less segmented art world that welcomes dialogue and discovery over exclusivity. Here, with Art OnO, he intends to prioritize the art lover and the relationship between Seoul’s galleries and the international art world.

“The biggest influence was from obviously Art Basel and I really liked Liste—not just the [experimental] works, but the galleries they show,” Noh said. “I wanted to see people just walk around and not so serious. They kind of chill and they talk about art, and that’s what I want to see from my fair. Not just about the value, because nowadays people talk about the value of art, not just the art itself, but they talk about the price. They talk about the brand. They talk about the names. Not that I’m saying that it’s not important. It is important. But I want to hear people talking about art itself rather than the value.”

Art OnO is designed to be an immersive experience that attracts true art lovers—those drawn not just to the artists but to the stories and the creative process behind each piece. Noh’s curatorial vision for the fair reflects a similar ethos to his personal approach to collecting. He highlights his experiences collecting works by artists such as Simon Fujiwara, whom he encountered at the Istanbul Biennial, and Ryan Schneider, whom he first discovered at a fair in Miami, as examples of artists whom Noh initially took a risk on and have since seen a surge in popularity. Noh has consistently sought to support art that pushes boundaries and challenges conventional tastes. His collection strategy—taking risks on less established artists—echoes Art OnO’s commitment to featuring emerging talents alongside well-known names.

“When people see something really new and something for the first time, then they don’t like it, but they see it for a few times, and then they start thinking it’s unique,” Noh said. “I tell people when you see something really new and you think it’s weird, then you should go for it. Because that’s something that you haven’t seen before.”

Art OnO is the latest in a string of alternative fairs, from Basel to New York, that have emerged in recent years, springing from a desire for a complementary, more intimate art experience. Noh is determined to steer Art OnO in a direction that stimulates conversation about new, sometimes shocking art, pushing against the mainstream narrative that often prioritizes market value over artistic merit.

“I wanted to bring that question to our fair so that we show people that there are so many either young or fresh artists that you’ve never seen but show a great quality of works,” Noh said. “We have to go back to the simple question, ‘Is it the quality or the price that makes people think that a certain artist or the work is good?’ Because when we see something expensive, then a lot of people think it’s great, and when people see something cheap, then people don’t really pay much attention to it.”

With Art OnO, Noh is channeling his collecting vision into the fair’s foundation. The “Young, Fresh, and Classy” slogan, directly influenced by his and Park’s tastes, drives the curation and presentation of the fair. This approach not only distinguishes Art OnO from more traditional fairs but also gives insight into what Noh values in his personal collection.

Here, he takes us inside his collection, showcasing the inventive and engaging art that the Art OnO founder seeks to champion.

Three standout works in JaeMyung Noh’s collection

Patrick Eugène, Draped Down for Town, 2022

“One of the biggest reasons for owning a work by Patrick Eugène is because it can provide both comfort and joy when hung in my space and seen every day as an artwork. Among my collection, there are also grotesque pieces, but at times, the comfort provided by such works [as Eugène’s] can be substantial.” —JaeMyung Noh

Song Seung-eun, A Boiler Spewing Fiction, 2022

“I first encountered Song Seung-eun, one of the Korean emerging artists, and continued to track her works. Over time, I noticed the artist’s maturation in her paintings, which is the reason that I am motivated to start collecting her works. Besides, this artwork, I have been collecting Song Seung-eun’s works consistently since her previous series.” —JN

Rebecca Ackroyd, Direct Lines, 2019