solid sales at Frieze and Kiaf defy market dip

Reviews of a dip within the South Korean artwork market solid a shadow on the run as much as Seoul Artwork Week, which sees the second version of Frieze Seoul and the Korea Worldwide Artwork Truthful (Kiaf), happening concurrently on completely different flooring of the Coex conference centre in Gangnam (6-9 September).

Nonetheless, crowds thronged and their impulse to spend cash on artwork appeared principally undeterred. A number of gallerists at each gala’s report higher VIP day gross sales this 12 months than final.

“It’s extra packed than final 12 months, and with extra People”, says Andrew Hamilton, a director of the Trendy Institute in Glasgow, one of many 121 galleries to participate within the honest (across the identical quantity as the primary version). Certainly, a date conflict with the Armory Present in New York—which was just lately acquired by Frieze—raised doubt as as to if collectors from the US would attend. However these have been quelled by the presence of round ten US museum teams, together with these from The Bass, Perez Artwork Museum, Lacma, Aspen Artwork Museum and Dia Artwork Basis, in addition to non-public American collectors. Distinguished European collectors in attendance included Maja Hoffman of Luma Arles in southern France. Virtually 40 museum teams got here in whole, together with the Mori Artwork Museum in Tokyo and the Auckland Artwork Gallery.

Maybe an excellent greater shift from 2022 is the return of Chinese language collectors, who couldn’t attend Frieze and Kiaf final 12 months because of Covid journey restrictions; each South Korea and China have lifted nearly all Covid precautions and face masks are a uncommon sight on the honest. Chinese language establishments in attendance embody Hong Kong’s M+ and the Pingshan Artwork Museum, in Shenzhen.

Mandarin might be heard at many cubicles, and whereas ethnic Chinese language folks from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia are additionally a part of the combo, the mainland artwork contingent is attending in pressure. “That is the primary time since China reopened [after zero Covid] so curiosity is excessive,” says Lucien Y. Tso, the founding father of Shanghai-based Gallery Emptiness. He studies a sell-out sales space of works by the Belgian artist Pieter Jennes, with vivid work priced round $30,000 and tactile mushy sculptures of black cats promoting for $1,500 per feline. Each darkly reference a 1932 Antwerp circus hearth. Tso posits that the date battle with Armory has had little affect as each it and Frieze Seoul are so regional in nature, he says, including that in the present day he has encountered a mixture of collectors from Taiwan, Korea, mainland China, Thailand and Canada.

This mirrors the geographical make-up of collectors at one other sell-out sales space—London’s Josh Lilley gallery, which has positioned all 15 work by Tom Anholt, to consumers from Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. The gallery prioritised presents from Asia “as we don’t come to Frieze Seoul to promote to Brits,” says its director, Joseph Harrison Davies. Josh Lilley additionally took half within the inaugural Artwork SG in Singapore this January. Davies says gross sales in Seoul have far eclipsed these of Singapore, with a “higher urgency” felt in Korea.

On the prime finish of gross sales in the present day at Frieze Seoul, Hauser & Wirth have positioned a 2023 Rashid Johnson portray with a “non-public Asian assortment” for $975,000. Lisson Gallery have bought a 2004 Stanley Whitney portray for $550,000 and a piece by Ryan Gander composed of an vintage mirror and marble resin bought for £75,000. Thaddaeus Ropac, which this month doubled the dimensions of its Seoul gallery, bought a 2023 Lee Bul mother-of-pearl work to a non-public Japanese collector for $190,000 in addition to two Daniel Richter work for €375,000, one to a Chinese language collector and the opposite to a Korean.

No works within the seven figures have been reported to have bought by the tip of VIP day, though final 12 months a small handful of galleries made gross sales of works for greater than $1m on the second day of the honest. Works in that value vary this 12 months embody a Calder cellular at Tempo, valued “within the thousands and thousands”, and a towering Jeff Koons Gazing Mirror Ball sculpture from 2004 at Robilant + Voena for $3.6m. That is maybe to be anticipated, as final 12 months at Frieze Seoul many gallerists reported a candy promoting spot of between $100,000 to $200,000, whereas struggling to put something above $500,000.

And at sure stands, indicators of a downturn in gross sales could possibly be gleaned. “Persons are actually speaking of a slower market,” says Salomé Zelic, a director at Galeria Continua. As of 7pm Korea time on preview day the gallery had not but bought any works. “Normally our purchasers are on the higher finish of internet value so issues like this don’t trouble them, so it’s fascinating that this dip appears to be affecting folks,” she says.

Downstairs at Kiaf, gross sales and crowds appeared extra sedate, though Jaesok Kim, a director at Gallery Hyundai in Seoul, says this 12 months demonstrated an upswing in gross sales exercise in contrast with final 12 months. The usual in high quality additionally seems to have been considerably raised—gone, for instance, have been indicators of galleries inserting stickers on their stand partitions to mark the sale of a piece, as occurred at instances final 12 months. “Sales space shows have been extra diversified and the next calibre,” Kim says. Among the many works bought by Hyundai at Kiaf was a 1966 portray by the South Korean artist Seundja Rhee for $210,000.

This 12 months, Kiaf has considerably elevated the variety of galleries collaborating, by round 33%, with greater than 240 exhibitors. It’s made up principally of Korean galleries, together with a few of its largest, equivalent to Kukje, which was answerable for numerous the most costly reported VIP day gross sales, together with sculptures by Ugo Rondinone for between $50,000 and $90,000.

Returning for the second 12 months to Kiaf is the German gallery Isabelle Lesmeister from Regensburg. Its eponymous director says she bought only one work in the present day, a sculpture of a bit of wooden ash, twisted like a bow, by the artist Jeremy Holmes for $15,000. Lesmeister is assured at inserting extra works as “this isn’t the quickest honest at which to promote” she says, including that Seoul is a “boomtown” for artwork. Requested in regards to the downturn within the Korean market she acknowledges there have been fewer gross sales to native collectors than final 12 months however that is true the world over. “In all places individuals are shopping for much less artwork. In Europe, I’ve collectors who’re fearful about rising vitality prices due to the battle in Ukraine, it’s not a localised factor”.

“We’re coming into into the second part of the Korean artwork market now,” says the Seoul-based supplier Jason Haam, whose eponymous gallery is collaborating in Frieze. Final 12 months Haam was one among a handful of Korean galleries to participate in each Kiaf and Frieze. This 12 months he has elected to do solely Frieze as he discovered the prospect of doing two gala’s and staging an exhibition in his gallery “too exhausting”.

Whereas Hamm acknowledges there was a dip in gross sales earlier this 12 months, he says this “cleared up by July” and that, at the least for his collectors, it was largely right down to a “psychological concern” fairly than a “actual decline in wealth”. Economics apart, he provides that what’s most promising is just not a considerable materials enhance available in the market, however a rise in “the extent of high quality. “Dozen of galleries are opening up within the metropolis and so they’re all professionalising. Business areas now stage vital exhibits all year long fairly than simply as soon as. It’s very reassuring.”