Kiaf Seoul and Frieze Seoul, the biggest events on South Korea's art market calendar, closed side by side over the weekend.
Sales of ultra-high-priced works above 1 billion won ($740,000) slowed, but deals in the tens of millions to hundreds of millions of won were plentiful, and brisk trading in lower-priced pieces in the millions of won left dealers calling the fairs a practical success. Another feature of this year's edition was the timing: a Yoo Young-kuk retrospective at the Seoul Museum of Art, a Do Ho Suh exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and a Koo Jeong-a show at the Leeum Museum of Art ran concurrently with the fairs, helping build momentum. Market specialists said volatility in the stock market has tied up assets that might otherwise flow into art, which appears to explain the sluggish trade in expensive works.
Kiaf Seoul, marking its 25th anniversary this year, drew 175 galleries from 18 countries. About 80,000 people visited Coex during the run. Lee Sung-hoon, president of the Galleries Association of Korea, which organizes the fair, said the wider participation of younger and first-time collectors confirmed that the art market's base is broadening.
Works by Yoo Young-kuk fetched the highest prices at both Kiaf and Frieze Seoul this year. At Kukje Gallery's Frieze booth, a 1971 Yoo painting sold for about 2.5 billion won, while a 1979 work went for about 700 million won at its Kiaf booth. The Yoo exhibition now running at the Seoul Museum of Art has already drawn 300,000 visitors. Beyond Yoo, Kukje Gallery sold more than 20 works at Kiaf by artists including Park Seo-bo, Ahn Kyu-chul, Hong Seung-hye and Jean-Michel Othoniel. Gallery Hyundai posted sales of more than 1.8 billion won with works by Nam June Paik, Chung Sang-hwa, Kim Bo-hie and Kim Sung-yoon. Opera Gallery sold an Alex Katz work for about $180,000 (about 240 million won). Pyo Gallery drew attention with works by Kim Tschang-yeul and Ha Chong-hyun, while Park Ryu Sook Gallery was crowded on VIP opening day with visitors hoping to meet British artist Philip Colbert, who attended. Gallery Wee, Rho Gallery and Gallery Meme competed with mid-career artists, while Whistle, Atelier Aki and CDA won over buyers with the freshness and value of younger artists.
Kiaf introduced a creative director system for the first time this year, with director Jung Kuho overhauling the layout and programming. Highlights included "HUMAL," a special exhibition on the theme of coexistence, "Virtual Vital," an augmented reality extension of that show, and "Kiaf Classic," a stage performance by pianist Cho Seong-jin.
Frieze Seoul closed a day earlier, on the 5th. The fifth edition drew 133 galleries from 30 countries and more than 70,000 visitors. Representatives from 178 museums and institutions in 25 countries attended, the largest institutional turnout in the fair's history. Crowds gathered at Lehmann Maupin, which presented a large selection of works by Do Ho Suh, and at Gagosian, which staged a "mini retrospective" of Damien Hirst. Frieze Seoul will move temporarily to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza next year while Coex undergoes renovation.
