A $4.5 million triptych painting by Mark Bradford sold by Hauser & Wirth led the reported sales from Frieze Seoul 2025’s VIP day, which took place on September 3rd, 2025. The transaction is understood to be the most expensive reported sale since Frieze debuted its Seoul fair in 2022.
The fair, which takes place at the COEX exhibition center in Gangnam until September 7th, hosts more than 120 galleries from 30 countries. It takes place alongside Kiaf SEOUL 2025, which takes place at the same venue over the same period and hosts 175 galleries from more than 20 countries.
The sale of the Bradford work solidified a buoyant mood that was palpable on the fair’s crowded VIP day, where queues continued to spill out of the venue late into the afternoon. Bradford himself was in attendance, alongside several notable names, including K-pop stars, such as BTS’s RM, The8 and Vernon from Seventeen, and the girl group Baby DONT Cry.
Bradford’s triptych was one of a clutch of works to sell for a seven-figure prices on the opening day: Hauser & Wirth also sold George Condo’s Purple Sunshine (2025) for $1.2 million, Thaddaeus Ropac sold a Georg Baselitz painting for €1.8 million ($2.1 million), White Cube sold a Baselitz painting for €1.3 million ($1.5 million), and Seoul gallery Hakgojae sold Kim Whanki’s Cloud and the Moon (1962) for ₩2000 million ($1.4 million). That number is five times the total of seven-figure works sold on the fair’s VIP day last year, and the comparative depth of reported transactions will provide an initial shot of relief to those concerned about market headwinds, especially at the high end, in the run-up to this tentpole art week.
“There’s been a noticeable step up in the pace on opening day this year, in terms of the energy, but critically in the concentration of serious collectors attending who are very focused and decisive in their buying,” said dealer Thaddaeus Ropac. “It’s still early in the fair, but already we’ve sold to collectors from Korea—including important museum collections—as well as Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, [and] a few from America and Europe.”
Here, we round up a selection of leading sales reported by galleries at Frieze Seoul 2025. Check back on Monday for our full sales report.
