Cheon Kyungja's 'Portrait of a Woman' and Lee Jungseop's 'Chicken and Family'... 14.6 Billion Won Worth of Art Auctions in October

22nd Seoul Auction, Total 129 Items, Approximately 6.3 Billion KRW
23rd K Auction, Total 83 Items, Approximately 8.3 Billion KRW

This October, artworks such as Cheon Kyung-ja's 'Portrait of a Woman,' celebrating her 100th birth anniversary, and Lee Jung-seop's 'Chicken and Family,' depicting time spent with his family, will find new owners through auctions by Seoul Auction and K Auction in mid-October.

Lee Jung-seop 'Chicken and Family', oil on paper, 36×26cm, 1954-1955 [Photo by K Auction]

Seoul Auction announced on the 13th that it will hold the '180th Fine Art Auction' at 4 p.m. on the 22nd at the Seoul Auction Gangnam Center. The auction features a total of 129 pieces, including works by Korean modern and contemporary art masters Cheon Kyung-ja, Nam June Paik, and Lee Jung-seop, with a total low estimated value of about 6.3 billion KRW.

The most notable piece in this auction is Cheon Kyung-ja's 1977 work 'Portrait of a Woman,' currently featured in a commemorative exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Art. The painting depicts a woman wearing a floral crown, gazing directly with eyes full of melancholy against a purple background. The auction will start at 450 million KRW.

Media art master Nam June Paik's 1994 work 'Robot Pierre' will also seek a new owner. Standing 2 meters tall, the robot holding a lamp in its hand appears to be walking, with a long conical hat entangled in cables, making it an impressive piece. The estimated price ranges from 70 million to 150 million KRW.

Cheon Kyung-ja, 'Portrait of a Woman', color on paper, 50×42.2cm, 1977 [Photo provided by Seoul Auction]

Lee Jung-seop's painting 'Children and String,' sent to his eldest son Taehyun, reveals a father's tender feelings through the inscription 'Taehyun-gun' written on the upper left of the artwork. It is listed with an estimated price of 150 million to 250 million KRW.

Among antiques, late Joseon Dynasty genre painter Gisan Kim Jun-geun's 'Sireumpan' is estimated at 15 million to 30 million KRW, a 10-panel Joseon Dynasty spring-themed album is estimated at 80 million to 120 million KRW, and a turtle-shaped wine vessel 'Baekja Cheonghwa Nakseo Munjara Hyeong Juja' is estimated at 85 million to 150 million KRW, all seeking new owners.

The auction items can be viewed free of charge by anyone at the Seoul Auction Gangnam Center until the auction day on the 22nd.

K Auction will hold an auction on the 23rd at its headquarters in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, featuring a total of 83 artworks worth approximately 8.3 billion KRW, including Lee Jung-seop's 1950s work 'Chicken and Family.'

'Chicken and Family,' which captures the time Lee Jung-seop spent with his family, was painted after his wife and two sons moved to Japan in 1952. It was first exhibited at his solo exhibition at Midopa Gallery in January 1955, and the auction will start at 1 billion KRW.

Georg Baselitz b.1938 German Dreistreifenmaler (Remix)/ Three-Stripe Painter (Remix) oil on canvas 300×246cm 2007
[Photo by K Auction]

The renowned white porcelain enthusiast Kim Whanki's painting 'Jar' will also find a new owner. Created in 1958 while working in Paris, France, the painting depicts a jar, a tree, and mountains together. It is estimated between 950 million and 1.5 billion KRW.

Other works seeking new owners include Lee Ufan's 'Correspondence' (240 million to 500 million KRW), Kim Jong-hak's 'Summer Seorak' (225 million to 550 million KRW), Jung Sang-hwa's 'Untitled 89-3-5' (200 million to 400 million KRW) and 'Untitled 75-3' (200 million to 400 million KRW), and Seo Seung-won's 'Simultaneity 21-203' (85 million to 130 million KRW).

Among foreign artists, Georg Baselitz's 2007 work 'German Dreistreifenmaler,' which overturned traditional painting concepts through innovative experiments and presented a new interpretation of figurative painting, is up for auction with an estimated price of 700 million to 1.5 billion KRW. Also featured are George Condo's 'Blue Diamonds' (300 million to 600 million KRW) and Nicolas Party's 'Two Pears' (400 million to 550 million KRW), who is currently holding a large-scale solo exhibition at the Leeum Museum of Art.

The preview is open free of charge without reservation at the K Auction exhibition hall until the auction day on the 23rd. Participation in the auction requires free membership registration with K Auction and can be done via written or on-site bidding, telephone, or online live bidding.