K-Auction to Exhibit Artworks Worth 12.5 Billion KRW in September Auction

Lee Ufan's 'Correspondence' (No. 150).

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] K Auction announced on the 15th that it will hold its September auction at 4 p.m. on the 29th at its headquarters in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The auction will feature 168 lots, worth approximately 12.5 billion KRW. It will showcase works by Korean masters such as Kim Whanki, Chun Kyungja, Jang Ukjin, Kim Jonghak, Lee Ufan, Park Seo-bo, and Jung Sanghwa, as well as works by international artists including Fernand L?ger, Yoshitomo Nara, Jes?s Rafael Soto, Bernard Buffet, and Ayako Rokkaku. In the Korean painting and antiques section, works such as Geungjae Kim Deukshin’s Jawi Bugwado (刺蝟負瓜圖), Gosong Yusu Gwan-do painter Lee Inmun’s Summer Landscape (夏景山水圖), and Seokyeon Yang Kihoon’s White Plum Blossom (白梅圖) will be featured, along with crafts and ceramics including lacquer pen boxes (朱漆筆匣), medicine cabinets (藥欌), seals (印章), and white porcelain jars (白磁壺).

This auction will include 11 works by Lee Ufan, which recorded the highest total hammer price in K Auction’s first half of the year, totaling about 2.16 billion KRW. There will be 8 works by Kim Whanki (approximately 1.26 billion KRW) and 6 works by Park Seo-bo (approximately 1.66 billion KRW) up for auction. Notably, Lee Ufan’s ‘Correspondence’ series will be presented in various sizes, drawing attention. The largest piece, a 300-ho large-scale work titled Correspondence (1994), will be offered with price inquiries upon request. The 150-ho Correspondence from 2003 is estimated at 550 million to 700 million KRW, the 20-ho piece from 2002 at 180 million to 250 million KRW, and the modest 8-ho size Correspondence painted in 1998 will be auctioned at 75 million to 130 million KRW.

Fernand L?ger's 'La Fleur Sur Fond Rouge'.

A work by Fernand L?ger, a French artist being introduced for the first time in a domestic auction, will be offered at 500 million to 800 million KRW. Fernand L?ger, a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker, was an artist who pondered the meaning of art during the industrialization era. He focused on the new aesthetic possibilities of machines and sought to capture them on canvas. Although he came close to death during World War I, he remained optimistic about machine civilization and believed that mechanization would lead to equality in human life and allow workers more leisure time, rather than worrying about job losses. Consequently, he depicted humans in cylindrical, machine-like forms. From this emerged the cylindrical abstraction called ‘Tubism,’ where all forms were transformed into cylindrical tubes.

Lee Geonyong's 'The Method of Drawing'.

Three works by Lee Geonyong, known for his recent solo exhibition of ‘Body Drawings,’ three works by Lee Bae, known as the ‘Charcoal Artist’ whose exhibition began on the 14th, and two works by Lee Kangso, known as the ‘Duck Artist,’ will also be featured. Lee Geonyong and Lee Kangso, regarded as masters of Korean experimental art, are scheduled to participate in the joint exhibition by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Guggenheim Museum New York titled ‘Avant-garde: Korean Experimental Art of the 1960s and 1970s,’ attracting increased attention and driving the market recently.

The auction lots can be viewed at the K Auction exhibition hall from the 18th until the auction day on the 29th. Preview viewing is free and will be available during the Chuseok holiday period. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, previews will be conducted by reservation only, so booking in advance is mandatory. Those wishing to participate in the auction can join as K Auction members and bid via written bids, on-site, telephone, or online live bidding.