Auction houses, galleries dip their toes into each other's territory

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

Sun, October 1, 2023 | 19:03

Theater & Others

Auction houses, galleries dip their toes into each other's territory

Posted : 2022-03-09 16:26

Updated : 2022-03-09 17:37

Installation view of K Auction's exhibition, "The Collection," held at The Hyundai Seoul in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul / Courtesy of K Auction

By Park Han-sol

Following the hushed year of 2020 engulfed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea's art market saw a new boom last year. The local market tripled in size in 2021 compared to the previous year, surpassing 915 billion won ($751.5 million), according to the Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS).

Witnessing this hard-to-miss exponential growth, key players such as auction houses and galleries have begun to experiment with expanding their roles, going as far as dipping their toes into each other's territory.

K Auction, one of Korea's leading auction houses, is hosting a large-scale art exhibition jointly with Hyundai Department Store this week.

Titled "The Collection," the show has brought in over 250 pieces produced by nearly 130 artists, from emerging creators to renowned masters both here and abroad like Kim Whanki, Chung Sang-hwa, Donald Judd and Stanley Whitney.

The exhibition will run until Sunday at The Hyundai Seoul in Yeongdeungpo District. The displayed works will only be available for sale onsite.

While it is a normal practice for the auction house to organize previews ahead of its scheduled major auctions at its Seoul branches to attract interested participants, "The Collection" is unusual in that it is a standalone show held in collaboration with a prominent department store. Art shows and trading have, in fact, become a tool for marketing and investment for a number of retail shopping centers as well.

Hosting the event is part of K Auction's latest efforts to target a burgeoning group of new collectors and the growing demand for "undiscovered," rising artists, the company explained in a statement.

The first-ever auction event organized independently by the Galleries Association of Korea was held at the Westin Josun Seoul, Jan. 26. / Courtesy of Galleries Association of Korea

Galleries have also started experimenting with expanding their role in the art market early this year.

In January, the Galleries Association of Korea announced its first-ever auction event, organized independently from established auction houses.

The association's unprecedented decision was fueled by its claim that the auction houses have for years been violating a gentlemen's agreement made in 2007.

The companies have been hosting an excessive number of auctions per year ― in one extreme case as many as 80, both big and small ― and contacting artists directly for their newest works, thereby undermining the primary role played by galleries, it argued.

"Galleries' role in discovering and growing creators is being reduced and the balance between the primary and secondary players in the market is starting to collapse," the association said in a statement.

Its independently hosted auction on Jan. 26 at the Westin Josun Seoul brought in 117 pieces from iconic artists such as Park Soo-keun, Kim Tschang-yeul and Yun Hyong-keun, as well as creators that the participating galleries have deemed worthy of critical reexamination. The event was claimed a success, with 95 percent of the works auctioned off.

hansolp@koreatimes.co.kr