The third edition of Frieze Seoul is underway and a slate of sales have been reported during its preview day. The leading sale so far is a $1.5 million Yoo Youngkuk painting from Seoul’s PKM Gallery.
Frieze Seoul opened today with around 120 local and international galleries at the COEX in Gangnam, where the Korean International Art Fair (Kiaf) is also taking place. Both fairs run through September 7th.
Blue-chip exhibitors were quick to report sales from the fair’s VIP day: Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery, and Thaddaeus Ropac each issued several headlining figures. However, some noticed a more muted dealmaking tempo than usual.
“So far it’s somewhat slower on opening day in terms of sales compared to last year, but we’re not in any way worried about how things will go by the end of the fair,” said dealer Thaddaeus Ropac, who added the caveat that “it’s too early to come to any conclusions.”
Ropac continued: “There is such a great dynamic in Seoul’s art scene and Frieze has really built its presence and reach here. It’s just what we’d hoped for in terms of connecting with collectors locally and regionally, and so far our sales are mainly to Korean collectors.”
The mega-gallery’s sales were led by a €1 million ($1.1 million) Georg Baselitz painting, Ein Pilgerort, die Hütte gibt es noch (2023). Other sales reported by Thaddaeus Ropac include:
Hauser & Wirth’s reported sales were led by a new painting by Avery Singer for $575,000. Other sales reported by the gallery include:
Pace Gallery’s top sales were led by a small-scale “LOVE” sculpture by Robert Indiana—featured in a collateral exhibition at this year’s Venice Biennale—which sold for ₩736.73 million ($550,000). Other notable sales from Pace include:
- A Robert Nava painting for ₩247.64 million ($185,000).
- A Kylie Manning painting priced at ₩133.83 million ($100,000).
- A mixed media work by Mika Tajima priced at ₩127.1 million ($95,000).
- A multi-paneled painting by Kenjiro Okazaki priced at ₩106.99 million ($80,000) and two “Zero Thumbnail” paintings by the artist priced at ₩16 million ($12,000) apiece.
White Cube’s sales were led by a sculpture by Antony Gormley for £550,000 ($721,780). The gallery’s other sales include:
- A Gabriel Orozco painting for $250,000.
- A Tracey Emin sculpture for £120,000 ($157,479) and a neon work by the artist for £90,000 ($118.109).
- A Georg Baselitz ink on paper work for €65,000.
Lehmann Maupin’s reported sales were led by Lee Bul’s Perdu XXXI (2019), which sold for $210,000. Other sales include:
- A 2024 work by Mandy El-Sayegh for a price in the range of $60,000–$70,000.
- A 2024 work by Arcmanoro Niles for a price in the range of $55,000–$75,000.
- A 2019 painting by Chantal Joffe for a price in the range of $30,000–$40,000.
Local stalwart Kukje Gallery’s reported sales were led by a Jean-Michel Othoniel sculpture priced between €93,000–€111,600 ($102,836–$123,403). Other sales reported by Kukje include:
- A Haegue Yang work priced in the range of €41,000($45,312)–€49,200 ($54,374).
- A Sungsic Moon work priced in the range of ₩54 million–₩64.8 million ($40,286–$48,342).
- A Julian Opie work for a price in the range of €45,000–€54,000 ($49,732–$59,679).
- Three Ugo Rondinone watercolors with prices ranging from $50,000–$66,000 each.
- Another sculpture by Othoniel priced in the range of €70,000–€84,000 ($77,389–$92,867).
Jessica Silverman sold out its booth of 10 new oil stick-on-linen paintings by Hayal Pozanti. Prices ranged from $40,000 to $65,000. “Our return to Frieze Seoul has been a triumph,” founder Silverman enthused.
Check back for Artsy’s full sales report from Frieze Seoul and The Armory Show on Monday. Until then, find a selection of other major reported sales from Frieze Seoul 2024 below.
- Lisson Gallery’s sales were led by a work by Hiroshi Sugimoto for $406,800. Other sales included a Kelly Akashi sculpture for $55,000; “several” Sarah Cunningham paintings for prices ranging from $16,000 to $35,000; and a Leiko Ikemura painting for €90,000 ($99,495).
- Perrotin sold a Takashi Murakami painting for $600,000, a work by Jason Boyd Kinsella for $110,000, and a Mr. painting for $110,000.
- Tang Contemporary Art’s sales included paintings by Von Wolfe for prices ranging from $45,000–$75,000 per piece.
- In addition to the $1.5 million Youngkuk painting, PKM Gallery also reported the sale of a Chung Hyun bronze sculpture for $20,000.
- Gana Art’s sales included a bronze sculpture by Choi Jongtae for ₩100 million ($74,602) and a work by Lee Sang Guk for ₩70 million ($52,221).
- Gallery Hyundai sold seven works by Jeon Joonho for prices ranging from $38,000 to $230,000 apiece.
