The Korea Herald

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Seoul Auction to hold biggest art auction since 2008

By Kang Jae-eun

Published : June 11, 2021 - 17:25

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"Family” by Lee Jung-seop (Seoul Auction)

Seoul Auction announced Friday that it would hold its 161st major art auction June 22.

Works by famous Korean and international artists will be up for sale, for a total of 204 pieces both modern and antique, with a combined estimated value of 23 billion won ($20.68 million).

This is the highest amount for any single auction in South Korea since the 2008 financial crisis, according to Seoul Auction.

The works by renowned Korean modern artists will include Lee Jung-seop’s oil painting “Family,” abstract paintings by Kim Whan-ki and mixed media artworks by the late Paik Nam-june.

The foreign works will include Russian-French surrealist painter Marc Chagall’s “Le couple au-dessus” and Japan’s Yayoi Kusama’s iconic pumpkins.

"Le couple au-dessus” by Marc Chagall (Seoul Auction)

Among the antique artworks seeking new owners at the auction next week are Chung Sun’s “Landscape” and the 3-meter-long painting “Landscape of Haegumgang” by Kim Kyu-jin, a late 19th-century calligrapher and painter.

The preview opened Wednesday and will run until June 22 at the auctioneer’s Gangnam branch in southern Seoul, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

An online brochure has also been made available on Seoul Auction’s official website.

Established in 1998, Seoul Auction is one of the biggest art auction houses in Korea. Buyers can place bids online, via phone or in writing.

By Kang Jae-eun (kang.jaeeun@heraldcorp.com)