Korea's two leading art auction houses will hold consecutive February auctions featuring works by blue-chip artists including Lee Ufan and other rare pieces.
Both auctioneers have recorded hammer rates in the 70% range for three consecutive months, suggesting the market may have bottomed out. Industry observers are watching whether these auctions featuring blue-chip artists will signal a definitive recovery.
Seoul Auction will hold its 190th art auction at its Gangnam Center on Feb. 26, offering 143 lots with a low estimate of approximately 8.4 billion won ($5.8 million). K Auction will present 83 lots valued at around 9.2 billion won at its headquarters on Feb. 27.
Master Lee Ufan Stands Firm Despite Controversies
Both auctions will feature Lee Ufan's "Dialogue" series as headline works. Lee is often called "the Samsung Electronics of the art market" for his consistent market performance.
Lee's auction record stands at 3.1 billion won for "East Wind" (224x181cm), sold in August 2021. In October last year, "From Line" (1980) fetched 2.102 million euros at Christie's Paris, demonstrating the master's enduring stature. While this ranks as his second-highest price in U.S. dollar terms, recent won depreciation pushed the Korean currency equivalent to approximately 3.5 billion won.
Only three Korean artists—Kim Whanki, Park Seo-bo, and Lee Ufan—have achieved hammer prices exceeding 3 billion won. In November last year, "From Winds" (1986) sold for approximately 2.2 billion won at Christie's New York.
Despite years of controversy surrounding forgery allegations and questions about paintings given as alleged bribes to Kim Keon-hee, Lee's artistic achievements remain intact.
The Lee Ufan Museum opened in Arles, southern France, in April 2022. A retrospective was held at Tokyo's National Art Center that August. In October 2023, a retrospective opened at Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, a major contemporary art institution. In May 2024, an outdoor installation exhibition was presented at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Samsung Foundation's Hoam Museum established a permanent outdoor exhibition of Lee's work titled "Silentium" in its traditional garden Heewon last year. Lee also received Germany's prestigious Wolfgang Hahn Prize at year-end. A painting exhibition at Dia Beacon in the United States is scheduled for May this year, followed by a solo show at Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany, in November.
All lots can be viewed free of charge at the auction house previews.
Such major exhibition histories have decisive influence on art market valuations. Recent auctions show growing preference for the "Dialogue" series, classified as the artist's later works.
In May 2023, a multicolored "Dialogue" (2020, 227.5x182cm) sold for approximately 1.9 billion won at Christie's Hong Kong, setting the series record. In May last year, a blue "Dialogue" (2019, 218.5x291.3cm) fetched 1.6 billion won.
The "Dialogue" series creates tension through minimal brushstrokes and expansive empty space confronting each other on canvas.
Seoul Auction will offer Lee's "Dialogue" (290.8x218.5cm) with an estimate of 950 million to 1.8 billion won, and "Correspondence" (161.5x130.5cm) at 580 million to 800 million won. K Auction is presenting a large-scale "Dialogue" (290.9x218.2cm) estimated at 1.3 billion to 2.4 billion won, and another "Dialogue" (162.2x130.3cm) at 1.08 billion to 1.4 billion won.
Rare Works Also Featured
Various rare works will also be available. K Auction's catalog cover features Chun Kyung-ja's "Woman" (260 million to 500 million won), alongside Yoo Youngkuk's "Work" (215 million to 400 million won), evoking mountains reflected in a lake, and Ha Chong-hyun's red "Conjunction 20-65" (220 million to 360 million won).
Seoul Auction is offering Park Seo-bo's "Ecriture No.88910" (420 million to 650 million won) and Kim Tschang-yeul's "Sunflower" (250 million to 500 million won), both previously exhibited at the artists' respective retrospectives at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea.
A blue monochrome work from 2007 by Chung Sang-hwa, who passed away last month, will also go under the hammer. The painting features surfaces formed through his signature repetitive process of folding canvas, peeling, and filling with paint. The estimate is 200 million to 350 million won.
Yayoi Kusama, whose works trade consistently at auction, is also represented. K Auction is presenting her signature yellow "Pumpkin" (740 million to 900 million won). Composed of repeated dots and lines, "Pumpkin" is an iconic motif that intuitively conveys the artist's worldview. Seoul Auction is offering "Infinity Nets" and "Hat."