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K-art poised to lead to Korean Wave in the global market

K-art poised to lead to Korean Wave in the global market

Posted January. 05, 2016 10:34,   

한국어

"An era of Korean arts has arrived following that of Japan and China."

"How to spend it," a luxury lifestyle weekly magazine from the British media Financial Times, has released a cover story titled "Korea Driven" where it said Korea has planted itself as a major player of the global arts sector. First appearing at the 1986 Venice Biennale, Korea has made astonishing accomplishments last year in the world`s major arts festivals, prominent arts gallery exhibitions and arts auctions. The New York Times on Friday also said 2016 will be the year that Korea`s monochromatic paintings are fairly evaluated. Beyond the domestic realm, the so-called K-art is now becoming the next hero of the Korean Wave.

After artist Lim Heung-soon`s winning Korea`s Silver Lion at the 2015 Venice Biennale, Korean arts have been assessed to have been elevated to an arts powerhouse going beyond simple objects for appreciation.

Performance in the auction market is clear evidence that interest in Korean arts is not a temporary fad. At the Hong Kong auction last year, the oil painting work of artist Kim Hwan-ki was sold at 4.72 billion won (3.97 million U.S. dollars), marking the highest bidding price for a Korean arts work. Works of artists Park Seo-bo and Chung Sang-hwa, Korea`s main monochromatic painters, were traded at the 700 million won (588,482 dollars) range at the Hong Kong Sotheby auction.

"Foreign big arts collectors are judging Korean arts works, which have just started to gain spotlight, have enough room to be appraised higher," said Lee Sang-kyu, head of K Auction. "The engine driving Korean art`s market value is the psychology that they are still relatively cheap and that there are no concerns their value will plunge if they are bought now."

Chung Chang-sup`s private exhibition at Perrotin Gallery in New York last year and Park Seo-bo`s exhibition at the White Cube gallery in London due on January 15 show that the key to K-art boom is monochromatic painting. Even more encouraging is that Korean arts are moving beyond these paintings and are gaining attention for various Korean artists of different generations. Kim Joon`s work which covered tattoos on an object modeled after a human body was auctioned off at around 38 million won (31,946 dollars) at the Phillips London auction last year, and Chun Kwang-young`s work was sold at the London Sotheby auction at around 76 million won (63,892 dollars).

Though auction price falls short of monochromatic paintings, Korean artists` transformation of Western model arts techniques into unique tools show that Korean arts are overcoming fixations on monochromatic paintings. Moon Kyung-won and Chun Joon-ho, both of whom joined the Venice Biennale as artists for the Korean booth, Lee Soo-kyung who uses pottery fragments for sculptures, and Lee Jae-ho, an abstract sculptor using woods, are all drawing attention by the global arts sector.

"Though interest in Korea`s arts overall has clearly heightened, it is premature to say Korea`s young artists have gained clear attention in the global arts market," said Choi Yoon-seok, director at Seoul Auction. "Global individual arts collectors and arts museums are re-evaluating monochromatic paintings and it is fairly to say this has led more people to pay attention to Korean arts before and after those painting works."



sohn@donga.com