K-Auction to Hold First Auction of the Year on the 22nd at Gangnam Headquarters with 172 Lots Worth Approximately 10 Billion KRW
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Lee Jung-seop's final work 'The River That Does Not Return' and Cheon Kyung-ja's 1982 piece 'Woman Holding Flowers' will be featured in K Auction's first auction of the new year.
K Auction will hold its first auction of the year on the 22nd at 4 p.m. at its headquarters in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. A total of 172 works worth about 10 billion KRW will be exhibited. Works such as Kim Whanki's New York period pieces 'Echo I 24-Ⅲ-68 #4' and 'XII-69', Lee Ufan's 'East Wind S.8508B' and 'Dialogue', Jung Sang-hwa's 'Untitled 87-7-A' which graces the January auction catalog cover, and Park Seo-bo's 'Myobeop No. 4-82' will also be auctioned.
The genius painter Lee Jung-seop expressed his pain and anguish during the turbulent times of Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War through his unique artistic language on canvas. The tragedy of war, poverty, and hardship became his motivation for creation, and while many contemporary artists blindly embraced Western art, Lee Jung-seop adopted Western expressive techniques to incorporate the unique sensibility and emotions of the Korean people, establishing his own distinctive artistic world.
'The River That Does Not Return,' exhibited in this auction, was painted in 1956, the year Lee Jung-seop passed away. Facing death, the artist poignantly expressed his longing for his beloved wife and his mother, who was left alone in the North during his childhood and whose fate remained unknown. The 'The River That Does Not Return' series, which marks Lee Jung-seop's final works, consists of four pieces including this one, all created around the same time.
'Woman Holding Flowers' is a work by Cheon Kyung-ja that symbolizes the artist herself, featuring a woman with hollow eyes surrounded by beautiful flowers, evoking a fragrant lyrical scent and a yearning for beauty. The woman, with a bright bouquet, a long neck, and cool eyes, gazes into the distance with a vacant look. Although dressed in splendid clothes and adorned with pretty flowers in her hair, a sense of loneliness hidden behind the splendor is felt.
Lee Jung-seop 'The River That Does Not Return', oil on paper, 18.5×14.6 cm, 1956 [Photo by K Auction]
This auction includes five works by Lee Ufan, four by Park Seo-bo, and three by Jung Sang-hwa. Lee Ufan held an exhibition last year at the Pompidou Metz Center in France, and his solo exhibition is currently ongoing at the outdoor sculpture park of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, USA.
Park Seo-bo, who has led Korean Dansaekhwa (monochrome painting) since the 1970s, has presented the 'Myobeop' series expressing his unique spiritual world through bodily movement. Park Seo-bo's highest-priced work is the 1977 piece 'From Point,' which was sold for about 2.6 billion KRW including fees at the Seoul Auction Hong Kong auction in 2012.
Jung Sang-hwa currently has a solo exhibition ongoing at the Levy-Gorvy Gallery in New York.
Seven works by Kim Whanki, worth about 1 billion KRW, are exhibited. These include 'VI-68,' which reveals the process of unity with nature in Kim Whanki's artistic world; 'Echo I 24-Ⅲ-68 #4,' which captures the abstract sky landscape of New York in 1968; '1-IIII-69#49,' a work from the late 1960s where figurative forms disappear and the colors created by flowing paint stand out; and 'XII-69,' a work that heralds Kim Whanki's full-point paintings starting in 1970. These works collectively offer a glimpse into Kim Whanki's artistic world continued in New York.
Lee Ufan 'East Wind S.8508B', pigment suspended in glue, on canvas, 227.3×181.8 cm (150), 1985 [Photo by K Auction]
The most notable work in the antique art section is 'Gogandok (古柬牘),' a collection of letters from important figures of the Joseon Dynasty such as Toegye Yi Hwang. It contains 180 letters from 159 important figures from the 16th to 19th centuries, plus 13 letters related to the Haengju Ki family, totaling 193 letters compiled into nine volumes. The most noteworthy among these is the correspondence related to the 'Four Beginnings and Seven Emotions Debate' between Toegye Yi Hwang (1501-1570) and Gobong Ki Dae-seung (1527-1572), considered one of the most important debates in Joseon intellectual history. This lot is highly valuable both as historical material and for understanding the flow of calligraphy from the mid to late Joseon period. The collection is believed to have been preserved by the Haengju Ki family. The estimated price ranges from 90 million to 200 million KRW.
Additionally, 'Baekja Cheonghwa Jangsaengmun Vase' and 'Buncheong Sagi Sanggam Yeonhwangmun Maebyeong' will be exhibited, and in the painting section, works such as the ink painting 'Gangsan Mujindo' by Lee Yong-woo and 'Yuhae Heeseomdo' by Pyoam Kang Se-hwang will be featured. Folk paintings like Chaekkado, Horupdo, and Dongja Sinseondo are also noteworthy. Various types and forms of Kkokdu (traditional Korean wooden masks) such as Jangseung Kkokdu, Gisuhyeong Kkokdu, Jaein Kkokdu, and Akgong Kkokdu will also be exhibited.
Toegye Yi Hwang and others, 'Gogan Dok', ink on paper, each 43.5×30 cm, 9 volumes Photo by K Auction
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