Herald artday auction offers ‘Korean beauty’

Over 100 works by Korean up-and-coming to veteran artists on auction


Herald artday, a subsidiary of the Herald Media group, opens its third online auction on Friday.

It will roll out 110 paintings, photos, sculptures and prints by acclaimed South Korean artists, ranging from up-and-coming figures such as Mari Kim and Lee Soo-dong to veterans like Lee U-fan, Kim Chong-hak and Lee Manik, steady-selling artists despite the depressed art market.

As usual, the auction is approachable for both first-timers and experienced collectors as prices are expected to start from around 200,000 won, going up to over 30 million won. Organizers said that it will be a great opportunity to take home genuine artwork at an attractive price.

Interestingly, most of the representative artworks this time share a sense of “Korean beauty.” 

Lee Wal-chong’s 2005 painting “Golden mean of Jeju living,” for example, showcases tangerine trees, a boat, a dog and two women sitting out on the porch ― typical sights on Jeju Island. The artist, who lives and works on the island, mixed rock flour with paint to maximize the local feeling.

Artist Kim Sou featured a woman sitting down on the floor with one knee up, lost in thought, in his 1982 oil painting. The thick matiere and the nude figure of the woman hint that the artist was influenced by western paintings, but the somewhat rustic and bold colors remind of those from Korean traditional paintings.

Actual Korean traditional paintings are lined up for the auction as well. Five Chinese ink paintings by Park Saeng-kwang or Kim Ki-chang’s works like “Pavilion,” which are thought to have been produced in the 1960s or 1970s, are some of the notable pieces. 

Artwork by hot contemporary artists like Mari Kim or Lee Soo-dong are expected to draw the attention of the younger generation. Kim recently rose to the spotlight after doing collaborations with K-pop girl group 2NE1. Her small works which will be included in the auction, are affordable and rare.

Herald artday is considered to have set a new example for high-quality online auctions by introducing major works by established artists while most online auctions offer limited items by little-known or up-and-coming artists, or only small works by a few established ones.

Those interested can see the works at the preview exhibition which runs from Feb. 24-29 at beyond museum in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, or at the artday website (auction.artday.co.kr), before making their bids. The auction will start at 5 p.m. on Feb. 29, with a piece sold every minute.

For more information on the auction, call (02) 3210-2255, or visit www.artday.co.kr.

By Park Min-young  (claire@heraldcorp.com)