Seoul outshines NY, LA to emerge as Frieze Art's No.2 market

The Frieze Art Fair’s first Asia exhibition in Seoul attracted big crowds of VIP collectors and general art lovers from across South Korea this weekend, with 110 international galleries displaying pieces from Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian and other iconic artists.

Among the pieces up for grabs at one of the world’s top three art fairs, Damian Hirst’s “High Windows (2006)” decorated with colorful butterfly wings in a 2.4-meter circle was the most popular photo spot. It will go for as much as $2.75 million, and has already received series of queries from potential bidders.

The first day of the Frieze’s Sept. 2-5 exhibition in Seoul was open to VIP viewers only, but most of the famous pieces on display sold out on the spot or were pre-sold.

Trading volume is estimated in the several hundreds of million dollars during the four-day gala, according to industry insiders.

It is the first time for the London-based art group to hold a fair in Asia. But Seoul has overtaken Frieze's other two major international markets – New York and Los Angeles – both by the number of participating galleries and revenue, Frieze Chief Executive Simon Fox said in a Seoul news conference on Sept. 2.

Its 2022 galas held in the US earlier this year drew 60 galleries in New York and 100 in LA, fewer than 110 for the Seoul event.

EYE-CATCHING PIECES

Alongside Damian Hirst’s “High Windows,” London gallery Robilant +Voena put Picasso’s “An Artist (1967)” and Mondrian’s “Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow (1927)” on the market for Korean art collectors.

Picasso’s “Girl with a Red Beret and Pompom (1937)” attracted dozens of viewers who stood in line to take a close look at the painting.

Among installation works, Urs Fischer’s “Chalk and Cheese (2022)” and Simon Fujiwara’s “Who’s Only Whoman?” caught the eyes of visitors.

German contemporary artist Gerhart Richter’s “Candle” was pre-sold for $15 million by Gagosian Gallery, a New York-based contemporary art gallery.

“Red Portrait Composition" by George Condo sold for $2.8 million on the first day of the art gala.

'FOCUS ASIA'

For the Seoul fair, Frieze opened a “Focus Asia” booth dedicated to Asia-based new galleries. 

Frieze Seoul is taking place simultaneously with the Korean International Art Fair (KIAF), the country’s largest art festival.

The KIAF has lured throngs of millennials and Gen Zers, or those in their twenties and thirties. Some of them paid for art pieces worth 5 million won ($4,000) or below with credit cards on the spot.

The COEX exhibition center, the venue of the two art fairs, was crowded from noon on Sept. 2, two hours before the events opened their doors. The nearby roads were packed with cars waiting to enter the convention center in the posh district of Samseong-dong, southern Seoul.

Frieze's Fox hinted at putting the Seoul gala on its regular roster as it does for London and New York.

Write to Soo-Young Seong, Sun A Lee and Bo-Ra Kim at syoung@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.