Rarely publicized artworks by world renowned artists are on display at the “Limited Edition” exhibition currently running at Opera Gallery Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul.

Opera Gallery is a leading gallery chain which first opened in Singapore in 1994. It has 11 branches all over the world, including its head office in Paris.

The Seoul branch’s first exhibition of this year introduces over 100 original print editions by great masters including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro; contemporary artists such as Julian Opie, David Gerstein and five top Chinese artists, Yue Minjun, Zhang Xiaogang, Wang Guangyi, Wang Qingsong and Yang Shaobin. 

Prints have traditionally been considered as less valuable, as numerous editions can be struck from one plate, compared to paintings which have only one edition. Gilles Dyan, founder and chairman of Opera Gallery Group, however, said that the situation has changed.

“Originally, editions of artworks were considered less valuable. However, this type of work is now considered a worthy collection. Some editions recorded high sales in auctions and there are some collectors buying only editions,” wrote Dyan on the preface of the exhibition.

Among the exhibits, Dali’s Tarot Cards series, a total of 78 gouache and collage works which were created in 1974, is being shown to the Korean public for the first time.

The cards were produced as a book in 1978, became widely known, and are currently some of the most wanted collectors’ items in the world.

The gallery also offers a limited number of lithography sets by the five Chinese artists. Each containing 20 prints, the sets are put in aluminum boxes which are designed, numbered and signed by the artists.

The exhibition runs through March 2 at Opera Gallery Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. For more information, call (02) 3446-0070 or visit www.operagallery.com.

By Park Min-young  (claire@heraldcorp.com)