Seoul Auction March Auction Success Rate 95%... Record High as MZ Generation Flocks

Lee Ufan_'Correspondance'. (Photo by Seoul Auction)

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Seoul Auction announced on the 24th that its March auction held at the Gangnam Center in Seoul on the 23rd recorded a hammer rate of 95% and a total hammer price of approximately 10.4 billion KRW. This auction's hammer rate is the highest ever achieved in Seoul Auction's history. It is also the first time to consecutively record a hammer rate above 90% following the February auction.

Since this auction was held in place of a local auction in Hong Kong, real-time online bidding from overseas collectors was active. Additionally, the number of young MZ generation collectors present on-site in Korea noticeably increased, drawing attention. In particular, the MZ generation bid more on editions by famous artists and reasonably priced contemporary artworks rather than master-level works priced in Korean won, which were considered burdensome.

Among the editions that found new owners that day, David Hockney's work 'Going Round (Polyptych)' recorded 66 million KRW, more than four times its starting price. Additionally, Marc Chagall's 'Maternite Rouge (1980)' sold for 49 million KRW, and Lee Ufan's edition 'Dialogue 2019 B (2019)' was hammered at 40 million KRW.

The strong presence of the late Kim Chang-yeol, who passed away in January, was also confirmed this time. All eight submitted works were sold, among which 'Water Drops' painted in 1993 started at 40 million KRW and after fierce competition found a new owner at 89 million KRW.

The recovery trend of Dansaekhwa (monochrome painting) also showed a full-fledged flow. Park Seo-bo's 'Ecriture No.030707 (2003)' became the first 10-ho (size) work from the 2000s to surpass 100 million KRW, selling for 105 million KRW. Among Lee Ufan's works, the 80-ho sized 'Correspondance (1995)' was hammered at 400 million KRW.

Moreover, various works by overseas masters competed fiercely in this auction, attracting attention. Among them, the highest-priced lot was Yayoi Kusama's 2010 work 'Infinity Nets (GKSG)', which started at 1.3 billion KRW and exceeded the estimated price, selling for 2.3 billion KRW. Additionally, the still life 'Still Life with Compote' by Auguste Renoir, a representative Impressionist painter, sold for 220 million KRW, and Damien Hirst's 'Happy, Happy, Harvest (Triptych)', which fixed colorful butterflies on a brightly toned canvas to embody 'life' and 'death' in one space, found a new owner at 400 million KRW.

Meanwhile, Seoul Auction conducts online auctions every week and will hold the 'Zero Base' online auction on the 31st, introducing seven artists to the art market for the first time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.