Seoul Auction puts up luxury residential apartment for art auction

For the first time in South Korea’s art auction market, the residency of an apartment in a luxury complex in southern Seoul will go under the hammer, as the apartment is considered to have “artistic value,” according to Seoul Auction on Thursday.

The Korean art auctioneer will put up residency rights for one of 73 apartments in The Palace 73 in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The 385-square-meter studio’s interior design will be done by Meier Partners, the architectural firm founded by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier. Seoul Auction will provide art consulting for the space. Bidding for the residency rights starts at 16 billion won ($11.65 million).

Meir Partners is said to have joined in designing the luxury residency complex in Seocho-gu in southern Seoul, which features sleek, white-exterior buildings. Move-in is set to start in October 2028.

“Architectural philosophy will be embedded in every inch of the space, which is why we believe the studio has a standing as an artistic space beyond the value of real estate,” the auction house said in a press release.

The bidding price of 16 billion won is comparable to the most expensive apartment complex in the country, The Penthouse Cheongdam in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the publicly disclosed price for a unit with a floor area of 407.71 square meters at The Penthouse Cheongdam stands at 16.4 billion won in 2024.

In addition to the residency rights, 110 lots of contemporary, modern and traditional art will be auctioned off.

Japanese artist Kusama Yayoi’s painting “Hat” and an untitled Rokkaku Ayako painting will be on offer along with works by Korea’s contemporary and modern art masters Kim Tschang-yeul, Park Seo-bo, Lee Se-duk and Kim Ki-chang. Korean traditional paintings include those by Kim Hong-do (1745-1806) and Kim Jeong-hui (1786-1856). The total combined value of the paintings is estimated at a minimum of 7.8 billion won, according to Seoul Auction.

The auction will start at 4 p.m. on June 25 at the Seoul Auction headquarters in Gangnam, southern Seoul. The works of art are on display at the headquarters.