The third edition of Frieze Seoul concluded with reports of strong sales, a vibrant atmosphere, and a diverse international audience from Asia, Europe, and the United States. Held alongside Kiaf SEOUL, organized by the Galleries Association of Korea, the fairs highlighted Seoul’s dynamic creative community. This year’s Frieze Seoul provided a comprehensive look at Korea’s thriving art scene, featuring it alongside top global galleries and promoting a rich cross-cultural dialogue.
This year’s Frieze Seoul has firmly established itself as a cornerstone event in the global art calendar, attracting exceptional energy and enthusiasm from both local and international visitors. Our collaboration with Kiaf and the synergy with the Gwangju and Busan Headline Partner, Frieze Seoul biennials have fostered a vibrant cultural dialogue. Together, these events have highlighted the depth and diversity of the Korean art scene. Looking ahead, Frieze Seoul will undoubtedly continue to evolve, further shaping the cultural landscape of this dynamic city, and I am confident we have a strong and enduring future ahead.
Patrick Lee, Director of Frieze Seoul,
Over four days, Frieze Seoul attracted 70,000 visitors from 46 countries, including top collectors and representatives from more than 130 leading museums and institutions. Major placements were made across all four days of the fair, with numerous significant sales made on the opening day and into the weekend.
Hauser & Wirth reported the sale of Nicolas Party’s Portrait with Curtains (2021) for $2.5 million to a private collection in Asia, as well as two major works by Louise Bourgeois: The Family, a gouache on paper, and Femme, a fabric and marble sculpture from 2003, which was sold for a seven-figure sum (USD). The gallery also secured major placements of Avery Singer’s Free Fall for $575,000 and a Henry Taylor painting for $450,000. Additionally, Party’s Triptych with Red Forest was placed for $350,000, while Angel Otero’s work found a home for $285,000. Further notable placements included works by Anj Smith for $215,000, Catherine Goodman for $135,000, Ambera Wellmann for $40,000, and a study by Flora Yukhnovich for £22,000.
We had high expectations for Frieze Seoul this year and they have been exceeded. The majority of the exceptional works we placed on opening day have been acquired by respected collectors in South Korea and wider Asia which was our goal for this fair. The incredible enthusiasm and engagement we’ve experienced is a true indication of the highly informed and sophisticated audiences in the region. We are thrilled to have placed new works by Rita Ackermann, Catherine Goodman, Angel Otero, Avery Singer and Flora Yukhnovich; recent important paintings by Henry Taylor and Anj Smith; and have found new homes for works by artists with major 2024 museum and institutional projects, such as Nicolas Party, whose first solo exhibition in South Korea just opened at Hoam Museum of Art; and Ambera Wellmann, whose works are also on view at Gwangju Biennale. The combined energy surrounding the fair and the city’s art week has been particularly marked this year given the Gwangju Biennale and Busan Biennales. We’ve had many wonderful conversations with our network of respected museum curators and institutions and we’ve also forged a constellation of new connections. The art eco-system here is so vibrant, it’s a joy to experience it.
James Koch, Executive Director and Partner, Hauser & Wirth
PKM Gallery also saw early success with a Yoo Youngkuk painting sold for $1,500,000. The gallery reported strong interest in their other offerings, including two Chung Hyun bronzes that were placed for $28,000 and $20,000 respectively.
Sprüth Magers had a successful run, placing several major works. George Condo’s Self Portrait (2024), an acrylic and metallic paint on linen work, sold for $1.95 million to a private collection in Asia. Anne Imhof’s Untitled (2024), an oil on canvas piece, sold for €250,000, while Hyun-Sook Song’s 7 Brushstrokes over 1 Brushstroke (2023) and 19 Brushstrokes (2021), both tempera on canvas, sold for €55,000 and €60,000 respectively, also to private collections in Asia.
Pace Gallery placed numerous works including the sale of a Lee Ufan painting for $1,200,000, while a Robert Indiana bronze sculpture sold for $550,000. Other key transactions included a Robert Nava painting for $185,000, a multi-paneled work by Kenjiro Okazaki for $80,000, and several smaller works by artists such as Torkwase Dyson and Alejandro Pineiro Bello. Thaddaeus Ropac also enjoyed a strong showing at the fair, placing a Georg Baselitz painting for €1,000,000, alongside other key works including a Martha Jungwirth painting for €300,000, a Lee Kang-So piece for ?250,000,000, a David Salle work for $50,000, a Heemin Chung painting for $32,000, and a Tom Sachs piece for $30,000. Further significant sales included Lee Bul’s Perdu CXIII (2021) for $190,000.
We’re continuing to see interest from great collectors, despite all the chatter about the “market”. We also noticed a considerably more international group of visitors this year. People were very excited to see artists who currently or recently have been included in major museum exhibitions, including Robert Indiana, Lee Ufan, Kylie Manning and Elmgreen and Dragset.
Samanthe Rubell, President, Pace Gallery
Gagosian reported the sale of several new paintings by artists including Sabine Moritz, Cy Gavin, Hao Liang, Rick Lowe, Ewa Juszkiewicz, and Derrick Adams, with works by Urs Fischer, Takashi Murakami, and Ed Ruscha also finding new homes. Notably, several of these acquisitions were made by prominent Korean museums.
We were thrilled to participate in Frieze Seoul for the third consecutive year. Korea’s art scene is as dynamic and vibrant as ever and we were delighted to place important works by gallery artists in major Korean museums. Gagosian was also enormously proud and grateful to present Derrick Adams’s first ever show in Korea at the Amorepacific headquarters. We look forward to further deepening our engagement with Korea in the years ahead.
Nick Simunovic, Senior Director, Gagosian
Kukje Gallery also secured new homes for numerous works throughout the fair’s run including a Haegue Yang artwork for between €41,000-€49,200, alongside two acrylic-on-canvas pieces by Sungsic Moon, which sold for 54,000,000-64,800. Other notable sales included numerous Heejoon Lee’s acrylic and photo-collage works for $8,100-$9,720, and two sculptures by Jean-Michel Othoniel for prices ranging from €70,000 to €111,600. A Julian Opie work was sold for €45,000-54,000, alongside several watercolors by Ugo Rondinone, which achieved prices between $50,000 and $66,000. Further Korean-owned galleries also saw significant success at the fair.
We are invigorated by seeing immense interest in contemporary art that seems to have continued. The preview day of the fair was filled with collectors from all around the world who have responded with excitement for Korean contemporary artists including Kibong Rhee, Kyungah Ham, Haegue Yang, Sungsic Moon, and Heejoon Lee, as well as international artists such as Ugo Rondinone, Jean-Michel Othoniel, and Julian Opie. Overall, our sales results prove that our local artists are competitive on the global market, which is a good sign for us with Frieze London in just a month.
Hyun-Sook Lee, Founder and Chairwoman of Kukje Gallery
Gallery Hyundai sold seven artworks by Jeon Joonho, ranging from $38,000 to $230,000. Johyun Gallery experienced a robust response, selling ten works by Lee Bae for $56,000 each; two acrylic-on-ceramic works by Park Seo-Bo for $120,000 each; a Moon Jar by Kwon Dae-Sup for $60,000; a painting by Lee Kwang Ho for $25,000; a painting by Jin Meyerson for $45,000; a sculpture by Kishio Suga for $11,000; and a work by Kim Chong Hak for $65,000. Leeahn Gallery reported positive sales with Kim Keun-Tai’s works selling for $34,000, Lee Jin Woo’s for $110,000, and Nam Tchun Mo’s for $37,000. Additionally, Jason Haam sold a Linn Meyers for $90,000 to a Seoul-based collection; a Moka Lee painting for $100,000 to a mainland Chinese collector; and an Amanda Baldwin painting for $45,000 to a Korean collector.
Jessica Silverman was quick to report a sell-out booth featuring Istanbul-born artist Hayal Pozanti, placing large-scale oil-stick on linen paintings such as Voices Whispering Secrets and Water of a New Life for $65,000, with smaller works also snapped up by collectors.
Gladstone Gallery reported strong placements, including several $200,000 sculptures by Anicka Yi, whose solo show at the city’s Leeum museum also opened this week. Two paintings by Salvo sold for $375,000 and $150,000, and multiple drawings by Keith Haring, each selling for $125,000. Additionally, several paintings by Ugo Rondinone found buyers for $70,000-$170,000 each, while his watercolors were placed for $55,000 each. The gallery also saw success with works by Joeun Kim Aatchim, ranging from $11,000 to $22,000.
We are so proud to have participated in the third edition of Frieze Seoul. It has been a consistently fantastic experience to be a part of the vibrant cultural and artistic atmosphere in the city of Seoul. The sales achieved this year were notable, particularly those of works by Wangechi Mutu, Ugo Rondinone, Salvo, Joeun Kim Aatchim, Richard Aldrich, and additionally of Anicka Yi, who recently had her first museum exhibition in Asia open at the Leeum Museum of Art. It has also been an exciting time for our artists in Seoul, with recently opened institutional exhibitions in the region by Claudia Comte at K&L Museum, Rirkrit Tiravanija at Leeum Museum of Art, and Philippe Parreno at the 15th Gwangju Biennale. We are incredibly grateful for the continued support and organization of Frieze, and we very much look forward to next year.
Max Falkenstein, Senior Partner, Gladstone Gallery
White Cube also achieved strong results throughout the week, selling a corten steel sculpture by Antony Gormley for £550,000, a Gabriel Orozco painting for $250,000 and a bronze Tracey Emin sculpture for £120,000 as well as a neon work for £90,000. Additional sales included two Damien Hirst paintings, Lepe Beach and Rye Bay (both 2019), each sold for $550,000, while Park Seo-Bo’s Ecriture No.220905 fetched $250,000.
Now in its third year, Frieze Seoul has really found its rhythm with a great flow to this year’s edition and very well attended by local and international collectors. Sales have been steady for us throughout the fair, and there has been a stronger interest level in our programme among local Korean collectors with a number of acquisitions including pieces by Darren Almond, Marina Rheingantz, Park Seo Bo, Christian Marclay, Antony Gormley and Georg Baselitz. There has been an energetic atmosphere city-wide with an extensive programme taking place alongside the fair including 15th Gwangju Biennale, participated by two of our artists Marguerite Humeau and Marina Rheingantz. We were also delighted to participate in the Cheongdam night preview hosting a successful opening for Gabriel Orozco’s solo exhibition at our permanent gallery space, which is celebrating its first anniversary, and has been incredibly well received.
Wendy Xu, General Manager, Asia, White Cube
David Zwirner placed numerous significant works by international artists including Gerhard Richter, Robert Ryman, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Lucas Arruda, Francis Alÿs, Oscar Murillo and Katherine Bernhardt, continuing its strong presence at the fair. Lehmann Maupin enjoyed early sales, including several pieces by Kim Yun Shin and two works from Lee Bul’s Perdu series for $190,000 and $210,000, respectively. Other highlights included a sculpture by Marilyn Minter for $150,000-200,000 to a collector based in China, a new painting by Tammy Nguyen for $35,000 and works by Chantal Joffe and Do Ho Suh.
Lisson Gallery saw success with Hiroshi Sugimoto, selling several photographs for up to $406,800, along with a Kelly Akashi sculpture for $55,000. The gallery also placed works by Sarah Cunningham and other represented artists. Meanwhile, Josh Lilley reported brisk sales, including a Nick Goss painting for $60,000 and a Timothy Lai painting for $35,000.
Perrotin’s booth received constant attention, securing several sales, including a notable Takashi Murakami painting for $600,000. Nanzuka also attracted strong interest, selling pieces including a Daniel Arsham painting in the $100,000–$150,000 range.
MORE: frieze.com/fairs/frieze-seoul
Frieze Seoul is supported by official headline partner LG OLED, whose collaboration bridges the worlds
of art and technology, and by global lead partner Deutsche Bank, continuing a partnership that spans two decades and reflects a shared commitment to artistic excellence
