FOCUS Art Fair London runs this year from 16th-19th Oct at Saatchi Gallery. At the show, they exhibited works by more than 50 contemporary Asian artists from over 15 countries and regions, including China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India, alongside diaspora artists from the UK, USA, and Europe.
The opening night saw a full house at Saatchi Gallery, with artists, curators, audiences and visitors filling every room. This year’s edition introduces an even broader range of Asian voices and creative dialogues.
On the first floor, a room dedicated to the Japanese artist Kento Senga’s work. He created his own character world named “FiNGAiSM”. The first thing I saw was a row of sculptures in the hallway. These sculpture characters seem to have lost their spirit. Then as we walked into this room full of paintings, sculptures, animation…it was like another dimensional emotional world. This series is called Essence of Love. Those who seem to lose their spirits in the hallway became bigger in this room, holding red hearts in their hands and looking happier, some are not, they have different emotions. In the animation, this character seems very tired and has to go to bed. All the details the artist made push us to go to this emotional world, which feels quite calm and real.
Then as we see more about the show, Ken Yashiki’s work appears. Ken Yashiki is a Japanese artist known for his innovative approach to the Kimekomi technique. He used salvaged pieces of wood to carve the dolls, inserting pieces of cloth into the slits to create their clothes. He invited us to find the hidden beauty in our daily life and reflect on the meaning of human existence through the clothes we wear.
On the upper floor, Le Cordon Bleu London’s Head Pâtisserie Chef, Julie Walsh, and Deputy Head Pâtisserie Chef Jean-François Favy, collaborated with Japanese contemporary artist Kento Senga to create a sugar artwork inspired by FiNGAiSM.
JINAH ROH’s AI robot head is saying hello without any expression to everyone, only the eyes move, darting from side to side.
Among them, on the second floor, G16, there is a Korean artist Under flow exhibited his work in a dark room, three photographs printed on traditional paper hanging there, behind each is a poem. The sound echoes in the room, and the audience sits quietly, breathing in rhythm with the sound. He said life and emotions are always in an unfinished state.
The artist Radu Alexandru Lazar did a performance on the opening night in, he said:
“ANYTHING CAN BECOME A SCORE FOR A LOGICAL POSTURE, WHEN FRIED IN THE BOILING OIL OF TOTAL DESIRE.”
Artist Jae Won Jung influenced by Heidegger and Deleuze, uses her minimal visual language and material, with the core thinking of philosophy exploring the relationship with time, memory and existence.
There are lots of amazing works in this show. It showcases world-class Asian artists alongside emerging talent, established and new galleries, and visions of art’s future.
FOCUS Art Fair 2025 captures a moment when Asian contemporary art no longer stands as the “other” in Western art discourse, but as an integral part of it. Beyond the bright surfaces and interactive installations, the fair reflects an ongoing conversation about identity, technology, and belonging — a conversation that feels increasingly global, and deeply personal.
MORE: @focusartfair
Categories
Tags
Author
A Chinese artist and writer based in London, graduated from the Royal College of Art. Her practice is deeply rooted in spiritual discipline, spanning painting and writing. Each piece is a quiet voice from the soul — a way of living in the present moment, and an act of inner cultivation. She believes that every artist’s work is a manifestation of present energy, and that art is a bridge to the deepest parts of the soul.
