Freeze Seoul, Picture-Perfect 'Sold Out on First Day' Achievement

Richter's 'Candle' Sells for 20.4 Billion KRW and Condo's 'Red Portrait' for 3.8 Billion KRW at Opening
Complete Sell-Outs by Leading Korean Artists Including Park Seo-bo, Ha Chong-hyun, and Lee Bul
'K-Art' Status Rapidly Rising as a Central Force in the Asian Art Market

Frieze, known as one of the world's three major art fairs, was held on the 2nd at COEX Hall C and D in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. On the first day, only VIP ticket holders were allowed entry, and general admission begins tomorrow (the 3rd). Frieze Seoul features 110 galleries from 21 countries showcasing works by the top contemporary artists. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "There are so many works by famous artists that it feels like visiting an art museum exhibition."

The footsteps of visitors at 'Frieze Seoul,' the first Korean event of Frieze, one of the world's two major art fairs, were busy. The crowd gathered to see Pablo Picasso's drawings never seemed to cease.

Frieze, which opened on the 2nd at COEX 3rd floor C·D Hall in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was bustling every day until the last day of the event on the 5th. From the first day, news of artwork sales beyond expectations came from various galleries, and with over 110 galleries participating, Frieze is expected to be recorded as the largest art fair in Asia held for the first time in Seoul.

On the opening day, Hauser & Wirth Gallery, considered one of the world's top three galleries, attracted attention by announcing the sale of George Condo's red portrait 'Red Portrait Composition' for $2.8 million (about 3.8 billion KRW). They also announced that 13 works, including 'Overpass' by mid-career American artist Mark Bradford, priced at $1.8 million (about 2.45 billion KRW), were all sold within one hour of the VIP opening on the first day.

Gagosian Gallery, entering the Korean market for the first time through this Frieze, also sold Gerhard Richter's 'Candle' (1984), a masterpiece of German abstract painting, for $15 million (about 20.3 billion KRW) immediately upon opening. In addition, about 10 works by Nam June Paik, Takashi Murakami, Stanley Whitney, and others were also sold.

Risen Gallery, known as the exclusive gallery of world-renowned masters Anish Kapoor and Julian Opie, sold Anish Kapoor's work for ?682,000 (about 1.07 billion KRW) and a total of about 10 works including two pieces by Julian Opie.

Frieze, known as one of the world's three major art fairs, was held on the 2nd at COEX Hall C·D in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. On the first day, only VIP ticket holders were allowed entry, and general admission begins tomorrow (the 3rd). Frieze Seoul features 110 galleries from 21 countries showcasing works by the top contemporary artists. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

Germany's Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery sold sculptor Antony Gormley's work for ?500,000 (about 800 million KRW) and Georg Baselitz's painting for €1.2 million (about 1.7 billion KRW). Korean artist Lee Bul's work was sold for $190,000 (about 260 million KRW), and four works by American artist Tom Sachs, priced between 50 million KRW and 400 million KRW, were also completely sold out.

In addition, famous overseas galleries such as White Cube, Gladstone, David Zwirner, and Perrotin showcased their representative works and reported continuous sales.

Domestic galleries also showed remarkable achievements. International Gallery, participating in Frieze, announced that Park Seo-bo's work 'Myobeop' sold for 700 million KRW, and Ha Chonghyun's 'Jophap' and Alexander Calder's work each sold for 500 million KRW.

Industry insiders estimate the sales scale of this Frieze to be around 600 billion KRW. Last year, the total art transaction amount including domestic galleries and auction houses was about 922.3 billion KRW, and in 2020 it was 329.1 billion KRW, with two-thirds of the total domestic art transactions sold over four days.

Frieze evaluated its first event in Korea as a success. Simon Fox, CEO of Frieze, explained on the 4th, "Frieze Seoul, held for the first time this year, is the second largest Frieze art fair after its home base in London, UK, and is expected to surpass New York and LA in the US in terms of revenue scale." He added, "The energy in Seoul was amazing, and since we received much praise from participating galleries and visitors from around the world, we are already preparing for next year."

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