"Yoshitomo Nara," an exhibition of 30 paintings and sculptures by the Japanese art star, has opened at Seoul Auction's Gangnam Center in southern Seoul as part of its ambitiously scaled "2024 Connect Seoul" initiative. Courtesy of Seoul Auction By Park Han-sol In Korea, September brings more than just fall foliage as a deluge of art exhibitions and sales sweeps across the country to coincide with the return of two mega-fairs: Frieze and Kiaf Seoul. Seoul Auction, Korea’s oldest auction house, is among the big-shot local players jostling for the attention of incoming collectors during the frenzied Seoul Art Week.
Its eight-story Gangnam Center is already abuzz with an array of genre-spanning exhibitions, ranging from a contemporary art showcase to a display of centuries-old European antique jewelry. Unfolding as part of the company’s “Connect Seoul” initiative, which began last year, are a handful of simultaneous presentations — “Yoshitomo Nara,” an exhibition of 30 paintings and sculptures by the Japanese art star; “Mindfulness,” a rendezvous between painter Lee Ufan and ceramist Park Young-sook; and “Contemporary Art Sale,” a preview of its Sept. 10 marquee auction.
Hong Chang-hee, auctioneer and sales director of Seoul Auction’s partner team / Courtesy of Seoul Auction The auction house is also collaborating with Hong Kong’s K11 Art Foundation and Paris-based antique dealer Les Enluminures to host the “Lunar Water” media art show and the “Eur.