Park Soo-keun’s ‘On the Way Home’ and Kusama’s Butterfly: K Auction Inc. to Offer Works Worth 11.2 Billion Won

[Financial News] Works by Korean artists featured in an exhibition jointly organized by BTS member RM and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in the United States will be offered at K Auction Inc.’s October auction. Alongside 16 works by seven artists, including Park Soo-keun and Yoon Hyung-keun, works by Yayoi Kusama, Chun Kyung-ja and Jung Kang-ja will also be offered.
According to K Auction Inc. on the 16th, the auction will be held at 4 p.m. on the 28th at its headquarters in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul. A total of 85 works, valued at 11.2 billion won, will be offered.■ Park Soo-keun and Yoon Hyung-keun: Artists spotlighted by RM’s exhibitionThe auction includes 16 works by artists featured in ‘RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me’: Park Soo-keun, Yoon Hyung-keun, Chung Sang-hwa, Lee Seung-jo, Kim Tschang-yeul, Lee Dae-won and Kim Chong-hak. The exhibition opened at SFMOMA on the 3rd and showcases works from RM’s collection alongside works from the museum’s collection.
Park Soo-keun’s 1964 work ‘On the Way Home’ depicts a woman returning home and is distinguished by its simple forms and texture evenly covering the canvas. It is estimated at 680 million to 1.8 billion won. The work was displayed in the ‘Exhibition Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Park Soo-keun’s Birth’ at Gana Insa Art Center in Seoul in 2014 and was also included in the exhibition catalogue.
Yoon Hyung-keun’s 1988 ‘Untitled’ will be offered for 50 million to 70 million won, while Chung Sang-hwa’s 1984 ‘Untitled 84-3-1’ will be offered for 370 million to 440 million won. Lee Seung-jo’s 1987 ‘Nucleus 87-09,’ painted with repeated cylindrical bands, is estimated at 130 million to 450 million won.
Kim Tschang-yeul’s 1976 ‘Water Drops’ and Lee Dae-won’s 1986 ‘Farm’ are estimated at 300 million to 500 million won and 42 million to 100 million won, respectively. Six works by Kim Chong-hak, including ‘Flowers in Full Bloom’ and ‘Autumn Landscape,’ will also be offered.
■ Kusama’s Butterfly and Chun Kyung-ja’s Women to Be OfferedKusama’s 1981 ‘Butterfly’ is a painting featuring dots, a net pattern and a butterfly form against a blue background. It is estimated at 650 million to 1.4 billion won. The prints also being offered are ‘Pumpkin’ (1982) and ‘Flower 2’ (1999). ‘Pumpkin,’ a work combining lithography and collage, is estimated at 100 million to 200 million won.
Chun Kyung-ja’s ‘Woman’ (1981) will be offered for 250 million to 500 million won, while her 1987 work will be offered for 50 million to 120 million won. ‘Woman with Mehndi Painted on Her Hand (at a Wedding),’ a 1990 work by Jung Kang-ja, one of Korea’s first-generation female performance artists, is estimated at 5 million to 24 million won.
Six works by Park Seo-bo, along with works by Jung Young-joo, Woo Kukwon and Moon Hyung-tae, will also go under the hammer.
A preview of the works will be held at K Auction Inc.’s exhibition space from the 17th to the 28th. It will be open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with free admission and no reservation required. Bids can be placed after registering as a member, in person, in writing, by phone or online via live bidding. Anyone may attend the auction on the day, whether or not they are a member.


[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter