Art auction house Seoul Auction will hold a sale in Busan for the first time in four years, featuring major works by Kim Chong-sik, a first-generation modern Western-style painter who represents the port city, along with a piece by Paik Nam-june.
Seoul Auction said on the 18th that it will hold its Busan Sale on the 23rd at the Grand Josun Busan in the city's Haeundae District. The sale comprises 107 lots valued at a combined 6.1 billion won ($4.2 million), including 69 modern and contemporary works, 25 antiques and 13 luxury items. Works by Kim (1918-1988) that capture Busan's seascapes through bold color and forceful brushwork include "Sunset at Busan Port," estimated at 1.2 million to 5 million won, and "Gwangalli," estimated at 1.8 million to 6 million won.
"Internet Dweller: sw. six. Sa," a 1994 work by media art pioneer Paik Nam-june, will be offered at a domestic auction for the first time. Built in the shape of a robot from vintage televisions, cameras, antennas and vacuum tubes, the piece reflects the artist's humor and insight in anticipating the age of digital networks.
The sale also includes calligraphy by modern and contemporary historical figures such as Kim Koo, Lee Syng-man and Park Chung-hee, as well as antique works by Kang Se-hwang, Kim Hong-do and Kim Jeong-hui.
K Auction, meanwhile, will hold its October sale on the 28th at its headquarters in the Sinsa neighborhood of Seoul's Gangnam District, offering works by Park Soo-keun, Chung Sang-hwa, Park Seo-bo and Yun Hyong-keun — artists also known for being collected by RM, the leader of BTS. The sale totals 85 lots worth about 11.2 billion won ($7.8 million).
Park Soo-keun's 1964 painting "On the Way Home," estimated at 680 million to 1.8 billion won, depicts a woman returning home and is marked by simplified forms and a texture spread evenly across the surface. Three works by Japanese artist Kusama Yayoi, who died in August, will also go under the hammer. Her signature 1981 piece "Butterfly," estimated at 650 million to 1.4 billion won, renders the shape of a butterfly on a surface filled with blue dots.