[MZ Art Tech]④ "Attention Needed on Resilient Red Chip Artists Even During Market Adjustment"

Interview with Son Icheon, Director and Chief Auctioneer at K-Auction
Adjustment Period with Capital Outflow Focused on Asset Aspects
Collectors with a Long-Term Perspective Grow Alongside the Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Frieze Seoul, held for the first time in Korea last year, brought significant changes to the Korean art market. Although the global market is showing a downward trend, there is an analysis that the Frieze events to be held over the next four years should create a turning point. The Korea Art Authentication Research Center forecasted in its '2022 Art Market Analysis Report,' released on the 18th, which analyzed last year's art market and projected this year, that “Frieze Seoul will bring remarkable development to the Korean art market, and considering the current political situation in Hong Kong and the weak yen situation in Japan, Seoul is in a position to gain an advantage in the Asian art market.”

Son Icheon, Director of K-Auction, conducting an auction scene. [Photo by K-Auction]

Regarding the MZ generation that led the growth of the domestic art market, Son Icheon, director of K Auction, analyzed, “As global liquidity increased, capital flowed into the art market after passing through bonds, stocks, and real estate,” adding, “Public interest in artworks rose through the unveiling of the Lee Kun-hee collection, and a large influx of MZ collectors with financial power, such as those from startups and cryptocurrencies, influenced the market growth.”

Based on the capital inflow, the Korean art market exceeded 1 trillion won for the first time last year. On the 4th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Arts Management Support Center announced the ‘2022 Art Market Size Estimation Results,’ reporting that the art distribution amount traded in the Korean art market last year was 1.0377 trillion won, a 37.2% increase compared to 756.3 billion won in 2021.

As the market grew, the industry paid attention to the newly entering MZ collectors. The consumption culture of the MZ generation, who choose what they like and are satisfied with, was directly reflected in art purchases. Director Son said, “The baby boomer generation postponed hobbies until after buying cars and houses, so they purchased paintings later. In contrast, the MZ generation focused on their tastes and prioritized purchasing artworks,” emphasizing, “The proportion of the art market relative to GDP in Korea is only 0.05%, whereas in the UK it is 0.5%, indicating that the market is relatively small compared to the level of our citizens.” He continued, “As public perception changes and the culture of enjoying art spreads, MZ collectors have led the market centered on their tastes. In this process, young Redchip artists born after 1975 gained attention, but since the market has entered an adjustment phase, the decline in prices for these artists is inevitably large.”

The ‘2022 Art Market Analysis Report’ also analyzed that artists whose prices surged in recent years have experienced relatively large fluctuations. Based on total auction sales, artists like Lee Ufan (-36%) and Park Seo-bo (-28.6%), who led the monochrome painting craze, showed declines similar to the overall market trend, but artists such as Moon Hyung-tae (-66.7%) and Woo Guk-won (-57.8%), whose prices recently surged due to support from MZ collectors, experienced larger drops. Director Son predicted that even if the market enters a correction phase, works by ultra-high-priced blue-chip artists will experience a soft landing. He said, “Capital that focused only on the asset aspect of artworks has exited as the market improved and collectors increased in recent years, and those who entered with a long-term perspective considering both value appreciation and economic benefits are growing together with the market.”

Amoako Boafo, Libby and D-Lee by Amoako Boafo, 2019. Oil on canvas
Photo by miaminiche

Although the market adjustment phase brought fluctuations even to MZ collectors, the industry still pays attention to the new trends they lead. Having observed the flow from the abstract craze through expressionism to post-abstraction, Director Son said, “There was a sense that the market led by artists like Gerhard Richter and Mark Rothko was shifting to artists such as Hernan Bas and Nicolas Party.” He added, “Emerging Redchip artists recognized for their talent, such as Flora Yukhnovich, born in 1990 and who recorded 4.4 billion won last year, and Amoako Boafo, a notable Black artist from Ghana, are maintaining steady performance even during the adjustment phase.”

According to the ‘Korean MZ Generation Art Buyers Study’ published by the Arts Management Support Center, half of domestic MZ collectors purchase artworks with a predetermined resale timing. Changes are expected in their investment tendencies, which had focused on contemporary Redchip artists with high price increases. Director Son said, “According to Artprice data, works by artists whose prices surged 10 years ago often have not recovered to those levels, and reports suggest that the prices of young artists highlighted in the past two years may also be uncertain 10 years from now, indicating changes in purchasing trends.” He diagnosed, “It is a time when collectors need steadfastness, thinking that artworks bought because they like them are okay not to sell immediately, rather than approaching art purchases solely from an asset perspective.”

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