Seoul Auction to Hold Auction on July 22
77 Works Estimated at 5.9 Billion KRW
'Jangheung Art Storage' Usage Rights Also Up for Bidding
The July auction at Seoul Auction's Gangnam Center, scheduled for 4 p.m. on July 22, will be held under the special theme of the 'Blue' section, which explores nature and the human inner world through the color blue. A total of 77 works by major modern and contemporary artists such as Yoo Youngkuk, Kim Tschangyeul, Ayako Rokkaku, and Yoshitomo Nara will be auctioned, with the combined low estimate set at 5.9 billion KRW. Notably, a one-year usage right for an 8-pyeong storage unit at 'Jangheung Art Storage' will also be up for auction.
The 'Blue' section features 30 works themed around the color blue. Traditionally, blue has symbolized the sky and sea in nature, while also representing the profound inner world and contemplation of humanity. For this reason, it has inspired artists across both Eastern and Western traditions. The blue lines in Lee Ufan's 'East Winds' (1984) reveal the artist's uniquely tranquil and meditative world. Other highlights include Kang Yo-bae's 'Umburi-Baeknokdam,' which powerfully captures the primal energy and spiritual resonance of Jeju's natural landscape, and a large-scale work by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone, in which blue horizons and skies fill the canvas to create a meditative atmosphere.
Works by leading modern and contemporary artists from Korea and abroad will also be traded. Yoo Youngkuk's 'Twilight' depicts the landscape at dusk, as the sky and fields are bathed in intense colors, using a harmonious interplay of line, plane, and color. The gently curving shapes of the mountains are simple yet rich and harmonious in their use of color temperature. Kim Tschangyeul's 'Recurrence' is a large-scale painting, nearly size 200, featuring meticulously rendered water droplets combined with Chinese characters. As one of the artist's signature water drop series, it offers a sense of fantastic visual effect and profound philosophical contemplation.
Among international artists, Ayako Rokkaku's 'Untitled' will be auctioned. This work, in which a charming figure blends naturally into a vibrant background, is completed using the artist's signature finger painting technique, highlighting a sense of freedom and vitality. Yoshitomo Nara's 'WisdomTooth' explores themes of growth, pain, and suppressed emotions through a unique character, honestly depicting the fears, loneliness, and rebelliousness of contemporary life that the artist has long explored.
In this auction, a one-year usage right for an 8-pyeong storage unit at 'Jangheung Art Storage' will be up for auction. Opened by Seoul Auction in the second half of last year in Jangheung, Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, this state-of-the-art art storage facility is fully equipped with security, disaster prevention, and climate control systems. The starting price for the one-year usage right is 10 million KRW. Typically, annual usage is valued at approximately 24 million KRW.
The Seoul Auction July Special Auction will take place at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 22, on the 6th floor of Seoul Auction's Gangnam Center. The preview exhibition, held prior to the auction, will be open to the public free of charge from July 12 through the auction day, July 22, at Seoul Auction's Gangnam Center.
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