What Sold at Frieze Seoul 2025 https://ift.tt/oVMtayP

The 2025 edition of Frieze Seoul concluded on Saturday, September 6th, after a bustling week at the COEX Center in Gangnam.

This year, the fair hosted more than 120 galleries from 30 countries and was an anchor in a stuffed week of art activities across the Korean capital. Events taking place across Seoul included a program of gallery nights in different parts of the city, from Euljiro to Cheongdam. There were also museum openings, parties, and the concurrent Kiaf SEOUL fair, which hosted 175 galleries’ booths on a separate floor of the COEX.

This year’s Frieze Seoul—the fair’s fourth iteration—got underway at a moment of heightened pressure for the domestic art industry. While the country is experiencing several factors associated with a broader downturn in the global art market, it has contended with some more specific issues, too: In the time since the last Seoul Art Week, the country has impeached its former president, elected a new one, and had its broader economy rocked by U.S. tariffs (art is not affected by these levies, it should be noted).

Throughout the fair, however, attendance was consistently high and the mood broadly positive, with Frieze reporting some 70,000 visitors from 48 countries (including representatives from over 160 institutions) across the course of the fair. The tone was set early from a buzzy VIP day attended by several celebrities, including K-pop A-listers Lisa from BLACKPINK, BTS’s RM, and The8 and Vernon from Seventeen. “We were positively surprised by the energy of the fair this year,” noted Max Bossier, director at Lisson Gallery. “Local collectors and museums came on the first day to view works in person and acquired a majority of the pieces on our booth. In addition, we were able to meet new people from broader Asia.”

The effervescent mood was helped further by a number of standout presentations from galleries that struck a fine balance between international experimentation and local representation, with works from heavyweight artists and emerging names often sharing the same booth. Tokyo tastemaker Take Ninagawa was awarded the Frieze Seoul Stand Prize for its booth focusing on women artists, while Seoul-based artist Im Youngzoo was awarded the 2025 Frieze Seoul Artist Prize. Youngzoo’s commission, the three-channel video work Calming Signal, debuted at the fair and drew crowds throughout the week.

In the early hours of the fair’s VIP day, a series of seven-figure sales were reported by galleries, headlined by Hauser & Wirth’s sale of a $4.5 million Mark Bradford triptych—understood to be the most expensive reported sale since Frieze debuted its Seoul fair in 2022. That sale was one of a handful of seven-figure works sold by galleries during the fair’s opening day, much higher than the total sales reported during the same day last year. As the week progressed, reported sales continued to flow in, with dealers also noting the presence of new collectors this year. “We’ve noticed some shifts in the audience, with many new faces and a strong sense of enthusiasm,” said Emi Eu, executive director of Singapore gallery STPI. It’s clear that more new buyers are coming into play, which is exciting to see.”

Here, we round up the key sales reported by galleries during Frieze Seoul 2025.

Top sales at Frieze Seoul 2025

In addition to the Bradford work, Hauser & Wirth’s reported sales included:

• George Condo’s Purple Sunshine (2025) for $1.2 million
• Two works on paper by Louise Bourgeois for $950,000 and $600,000 each, as well as a digital print on fabric for $165,000
• A Lee Bul sculpture for $400,000 and a painting by the artist for $300,000
• A work by Rashid Johnson for $750,000
• An Avery Singer painting for $475,000
• An Angel Otero painting for $285,000
• A Cathy Josefowitz painting for $120,000
• A Jeffrey Gibson painting for $85,000

Thaddaeus Ropac’s sales were led by Georg Baselitz’s painting Es ist dunkel, es ist (2019) for €1.8 million ($2.1 million). Other reported sales included:

• An Alex Katz painting for $900,000
• Two Martha Jungwirth works for €340,000 ($396,839) and €60,000 ($70,030)
• Two works by Joan Snyder for $160,000 and $60,000 each
• A work by Tom Sachs for $90,000
• Works by Zadie Xa, Heemin Chung, and Antony Gormley for £70,000 ($94,603), $30,000, and £25,000 ($33,787), respectively

Untitled, 1967/95
Robert Morris
Sprüth Magers

Sprüth Magers’s sales were led by a $1.8 million George Condo work. Other sales included:

• A Robert Morris felt piece for $600,000
• Two works by Barbara Kruger for $500,000 and $100,000 apiece
• A bronze sculpture by Anne Imhof for €150,000 ($175,822)
• A work by Gala Porras-Kim for $120,000
• Two works by Hyun-Sook Song for €65,000 ($75,804) and €75,000 ($87,501) respectively
• A work by Henni Alftan for $50,000
• A Mire Lee work for €30,000 ($35,000)
• Four Bernd and Hilla Becher photographs for €20,000 ($23,443) apiece

White Cube’s sales were led by Georg Baselitz’s Erstens, bitte schön (2014) for €1.3 million ($1.5 million). Other sales reported include:

• Two Antony Gormley sculptures for £450,000 ($607,842) and £250,000 ($336,036) apiece
• A bronze by Tracey Emin for £220,000 ($295,711)
• A work by Christine Ay Tjoe for $490,000
• A work by Mona Hatoum for £170,000 ($229,629)
• A work by Cerith Wyn Evans for $150,000
• A work by Emmi Whitehorse for $150,000
• A painting by Tunji Adeniyi-Jones for $100,000
• Works by Zhou Li, Enrico David, and Minoru Nomata also sold for five-figure sums.

Mennour’s sales were led by a Lee Ufan work for €600,000 ($700,005). Other sales reported by the gallery included:

• An Ugo Rondinone work for $200,000
• A work by Alicja Kwade for €90,000 ($105,001)
• A work by Petrit Halilaj for €35,000 ($40,834)

Gallery Hyundai sold a work by Chung Sang-Hwa for a price “in the region” of $600,000 and a work by John Pai for a price “in the region” of $300,000.

Hakgojae Gallery—one of Artsy’s best booths from the fair—sold Kim Whanki’s Cloud and the Moon (1962) for ₩2000 million ($1.4 million) and a Hyun-Sook Song work for €70,000 ($81,667).

Other leading sales from Frieze Seoul 2025

Kukje Gallery’s sales were led by a Jenny Holzer work for a price in the range of $400,000 to $480,000. Other sales included:

• A painting by Ha Chong-hyun in the range of $230,000 to $276,000
• A work by Jean-Michel Othoniel in the range of €135,000 to €162,000 ($157,501–$189,001)
• Two fabric works by Louise Bourgeois in the range of $100,000 to $120,000 each
• Two works by Kibong Rhee in the range of $90,000 to $108,000 each
• A work on paper by Gala Porras-Kim in the range of $60,000 to $72,000
• A work by Kyungah Ham in the range of $45,000 to $54,000
• Two works by Kim Yun Shin for prices in the range of $20,000 to $24,000 and $30,000 to $36,000, respectively
• The gallery also reported the sales of works by Heejoon Lee, Ahn Kyuchul, and Jang Pa.

Tina Kim Gallery’s sales were led by a Ha Chong-hyun painting for $390,000. Other reported sales included:

• A Kim Tschang-Yeul painting for $350,000
• A Kang Seok Ho painting for $60,000
• A Pacita Abad painting for $35,000
• A Suki Seokyeong Kang sculpture for $17,000

Tabla 18 , 1993/2011
Olga de Amaral
Lisson Gallery

Untitled, 2024
Sarah Cunningham
Lisson Gallery

Pace Gallery’s sales were led by a Mary Corse work for $225,000. The gallery also reported the following:

• A sculpture by Robert Indiana priced at $195,000
• A painting by Robert Nava priced at $185,000
• A work by Adolph Gottlieb for $195,000
• A painting by Friedrich Kunath priced at $115,000
• A Pam Evelyn painting for $85,000
• A sculpture by Alicja Kwade for $75,000 and two additional works by the artist for €38,000 ($44,541) each
• A painting by Mika Tajima for $60,000
• A Kylie Manning painting for $40,000
• A Kiki Smith sculpture for $28,000
• Three sculptures by Kohei Nawa for $18,000 each

Lisson Gallery reported that Olga de Amaral’s Tabla 18 (1993/2011) was their most expensive sale at the fair but did not disclose a price. Other sales reported by the gallery included:

• A Hiroshi Sugimoto work for $250,000.
• Two works by Leiko Ikemura for €140,000 ($163,334) and €70,000 ($81,667) respectively.
• Two paintings by Oliver Lee Jackson for $75,000 and $50,000 apiece.
• A Sarah Cunningham painting for $30,000.

Lehmann Maupin’s top reported sale was a work by Liza Lou for a price in the range of $240,000 to $260,000. Other sales reported include:

• A Hernan Bas painting for $225,000
• A David Salle work for a price in the range of $130,000 to $170,000
• A sculpture by Tom Friedman for $55,000
• A painting by Lari Pittman for a price in a range of $40,000 to $50,000
• A work by Sung Neung Kyung for a price in a range of $20,000 to $25,000
• The gallery also sold five paintings by Kim Yun Shin, and “multiple works” by Do Ho Suh for undisclosed sums

Almine Rech’s reported sales were led by a work by Minjung Kim for a price in a range of €100,000 to €120,000 ($116,668–$140,001). Other reported sales included the following:

• A painting by Oliver Beer for £50,000 ($67,573)
• A work by Youngju Joung for a price in a range of $55,000 to $65,000
• A painting by Szabolcs Bozó for a price in a range of $30,000 to $40,000
• A work by Roby Dwi Antono for a price in a range of $40,000 to $50,000

Olympic Orbits, 2025
Amanda Baldwin
Jason Haam

Rhubarb Music, 2025
Lily Stockman
MASSIMODECARLO

Jason Haam reported the sale of two works by Moka Lee at $100,000 and $10,000, respectively. It also reported the following:

• A work by Mike Lee for $50,000
• A work by Sterling Ruby for $80,000
• A work by Amanda Baldwin for $40,000 and a Jihyoung Han work for $10,000

MASSIMODECARLO’s reported sales were led by a work by Lily Stockman for a price in the range of $50,000–$100,000. Other sales included:

• A work by Paola Pivi for a price in the range of $20,000 to $40,000
• A work by Dominique Fung for a price in the range of $20,000 to $30,000
• A work by Hejum Bä for a price in the range of $20,000 to $30,000

Lightly Floats and Drifts the Boat No.1, 2024
Xiyao Wang 王西瑶
Tang Contemporary Art

PKM Gallery’s sales included a work by Yun Hyong-keun and a work by Yoo Youngkuk for undisclosed prices, as well as three works by Chung Hyun for “approximately” $60,000, $250,000, and $400,000, each.

Tang Contemporary Art reported the sale of three paintings by Jangkoal and Wu Kukwon for prices in the range of $18,000–$115,000 apiece. It also sold a work by Yoon Hyup for $51,000, two sculptures by Andrea Galvani for $28,000 and $30,000 apiece, and three works by Gongkan for prices ranging from $8,000–$45,000 apiece.

More sales from Frieze Seoul 2025

Other sales reported from galleries at Frieze Seoul included:

• G Gallery sold six works by Choi Yoonhee for prices ranging from $2,400 to $19,000 each. It also sold a work by Isaac Moon for $12,000, and a work by Cindy Ji Hye Kim for $10,000.
• ThisWeekendRoom sold a Jinhee Kim painting for a price in a range of €18,000 to €20,000 ($21,000–$23,334) and works by Jiwon Choi and Seoul Kim, both for prices in a range of €17,000 to €19,000 ($19,833–$22,167).
• Arario Gallery—another of Artsy’s best booths from the fair—reported the sale of “a number of works” by Lee Jinju, Kohei Nawa, Shih Yung Chun, and Ok Seungcheol. The gallery did not specify prices.
• David Zwirner reported that it sold new works by Katherine Bernhardt, Huma Bhabha, Oscar Murillo, and Walter Price. It also reported the sale of “important works” by Michaël Borremans, Marlene Dumas, and Wolfgang Tillmans, as well as a painting by Lucas Arruda. The gallery did not disclose prices.

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