K Auction Hosts First Sale of 2024 With Modern and Contemporary Masterpieces

The first Korean art auctions of the new year will be held amid an overall downturn in the Korean art market.

K Auction will hold a sale in January at its headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 24th, presenting works by modern and contemporary Korean masters. A total of 93 works together worth about USD 6.65 million will be exhibited.

One interesting work in this auction is artist Kim Tschang-yeul‘s Genesis (1979). It is a large-scale work measuring 1.6 meters by 1.95 meters with an estimated price of $460,000 to $760,000. The most expensive Kim Tschang-yeul work appeared at auction shortly after his death in January 2021, when Water Drop (1977) sold for about $780,000. Including overseas auctions, CSH 1 (1978) notably sold with Christie’s Hong Kong in May of the same year for HKD 9.85 million (USD 1.05 million).

Genesis, which will be auctioned in January, depicts water droplets seemingly flowing down and soaking the canvas. “The water droplet marks look like tears with scars from war,” K Auction said. “Many water droplets form thin or thick shapes and capture the universe in them.”

Park Seo-bo, who passed away last year, is represented in the catalog with six drawings. An early Écriture work (1980), which features repetitive pencil drawing, is estimated at $37,000 to $61,000, and the brightly-colored Écriture No. 080612 (2008) is estimated at $440,000 to $610,000. Lee Ufan’s Correspondence ($510,000 to $570,000) and Chang UcChin’s Tree, Birds, Mother and Son ($150,000 to $270,000) are also up for auction.

The overseas category will feature Ayako Rokkaku’s Untitled ($300,000 to $610,000), Damien Hirst’s 1,3-Dicaprin ($76,000 to $150,000), and Alexander Calder’s Dolmens ($91,000 to $190,000), as well as editions of David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, and Nara Yoshitomo.

Meanwhile, Seoul Auction will hold a special auction on January 23, filled with only the works of Park Saengkwang and Park Rehyun. Both artists were known for color paintings. The auction will be held via phone, in writing, and online without in-person bidding, with a total of 143 works worth about $4.63 million. From Park Saengkwang (1904 – 1985) comes the Shaman series of ink-and-wash paintings that depict shamans and Buddhist folktales with intense colors. Park Rehyun (1920 – 1976) was a female artist who has recently been spotlighted for her artistic achievements, and this auction will feature her Early Morning ($384,100 to $499,300) and Banquet ($307,300 to $422,500).