Park Soo-keun's "On the Way Home" Returns to Auction After Five Months; Works by Seven Artists in RM Exhibition Also Offered

K Auction to Hold October 28 Auction Featuring 85 Lots Worth KRW 11.2 Billion
16 Works by Seven Korean Artists Featured in SFMOMA Exhibition
Park Soo-keun's "On the Way Home" Estimated at KRW 680 Million-1.8 Billion; Also Offered in May
Kusama's "Butterfly" Estimated at Up to KRW 1.4 Billion; Six Works by Park Seo-bo to Be Auctioned

Works by modern and contemporary Korean artists introduced to the U.S. art scene through the collection of BTS member RM are heading to the domestic auction market. Sixteen works by seven artists, including Park Soo-keun, Yun Hyong-keun, Jeong Sang-hwa, and Kim Tschang-yeul, will be offered. Among them is Park’s late-period masterpiece "On the Way Home," which appeared at an auction in May and will seek a new owner again just five months later.

Park Soo-keun's 1964 work, "On the Way Home." The painting depicts women returning home with his distinctive rough texture and simplified forms. K Auction

K Auction said on October 16 that it will hold its October auction, featuring 85 lots estimated at approximately KRW 11.2 billion, at its headquarters in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at 4 p.m. on October 28. The sale will include works by seven Korean artists featured in "RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me," currently on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), as well as works by Yayoi Kusama, Park Seo-bo, Chun Kyung-ja, and Jeong Kang-ja.

Opened on October 3, "RM x SFMOMA" presents works from RM's personal collection alongside pieces from the museum's collection. The exhibition, which runs through February 7, 2027, features approximately 200 works by Korean and international artists. It places Korean art collected by RM alongside works by Western masters such as Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse, and Agnes Martin, connecting different art-historical contexts.

The auction will offer 16 works by seven modern and contemporary Korean artists highlighted in the exhibition: Park Soo-keun, Yun Hyong-keun, Jeong Sang-hwa, Lee Seungjo, Kim Tschang-yeul, Lee Dae-won, and Kim Chong-hak. These are separate works by the same artists, not the works featured in the SFMOMA exhibition.

The work with the highest estimate is Park Soo-keun's 1964 painting "On the Way Home." Measuring 26.8 × 34 cm, the oil painting on Masonite depicts a woman returning home. It displays hallmarks of Park's late-period paintings, including a composition that simplifies the figures and background and a rough surface texture reminiscent of granite. It is estimated at KRW 680 million to KRW 1.8 billion.

The work was shown alongside "Laundry" at the "Exhibition Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Park Soo-keun's Birth" in 2014. It was also offered at K Auction's May 27 auction with a starting bid of KRW 850 million. Its starting bid in the upcoming sale is KRW 680 million, KRW 170 million lower than at the time. The final sale result from the May auction has not been independently confirmed.

Yun Hyongkeun's 1988 work "Untitled." Using umber (brown) and ultramarine (blue), the work forms dark fields of color on canvas. K Auction.

Works by Dansaekhwa artists also feature prominently. Yun Hyong-keun's 1988 work "Untitled" is being offered with an estimate of KRW 50 million to KRW 70 million. Made by repeatedly applying umber (brown) and ultramarine (blue) to form the composition, the work reflects the artist's view of painting, in which blue evokes the sky and brown the earth.

Jeong Sang-hwa's 1984 work "Untitled 84-3-1," estimated at KRW 370 million to KRW 440 million, will be offered. Jeong, who died in January, created a grid-patterned composition through a repetitive process of folding and unfolding the canvas, peeling away the paint, and filling it in again. His "Untitled," made in 1970 while he was living in Kobe, Japan, will also be offered, with an estimate of KRW 21 million to KRW 35 million.

"Nucleus 87-09" (1987) by Lee Seungjo, a pioneer of geometric abstract painting, will go under the hammer with an estimate of KRW 130 million to KRW 450 million. The work displays the characteristic arrangement of repeated cylindrical bands reminiscent of metal pipes, seen in his "Nucleus" series.

Three works by Kim Tschang-yeul will be offered. "Water Drops," from 1976, an early work in his Water Drops series, is estimated at KRW 300 million to KRW 500 million. "Recurrence SA0800H1," from 2008, which depicts water drops against a background of Chinese characters, is estimated at KRW 220 million to KRW 380 million. "Water Drops CHS8405-84," from 1984, will be offered for KRW 45 million to KRW 150 million.

"Farm," a 1986 work by Lee Dae-won, whose exhibition is currently on view at Deoksugung Palace of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, will also be offered, with an estimate of KRW 42 million to KRW 100 million. Six works by Kim Chong-hak, known as the "painter of Seorak," including "Flowers in Full Bloom" and "Autumn Landscape," will showcase his vibrant depictions of nature's vitality through intense colors and brisk brushwork.

Among international artists, three works by Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama, who died in August, are drawing attention. Her 1981 painting "Butterfly" features a butterfly on a surface filled with blue dots and a net pattern and is estimated at KRW 650 million to KRW 1.4 billion. Her 1982 print "Pumpkin" and 1999 work "Flower 2" will also be offered. "Pumpkin" is estimated at KRW 100 million to KRW 200 million.

“Butterfly” (1981) by Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama. The work depicts a butterfly using a blue net pattern and repetitive dots. K Auction.

Six works by Park Seo-bo will also be offered, marking the third anniversary of his death. K Auction will present the evolution of the artist's practice through works from different periods, including his pencil-method and later-period Ecriture works.

Works by Korean women artists are also included in the auction lineup. Chun Kyung-ja's 1981 work "Woman" is estimated at KRW 250 million to KRW 500 million, while her 1987 work "Woman" is estimated at KRW 50 million to KRW 120 million. "A Woman with a Mendi Pattern Drawn on Her Hand (At a Wedding)," a 1990 work by Jeong Kang-ja, one of Korea's first-generation female performance artists, is estimated at KRW 5 million to KRW 24 million. Jeong was brought back into the international spotlight through "Korean Experimental Art of the 1960s and 1970s," an exhibition jointly organized in 2023 by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Works by contemporary Korean artists including Jung Young-joo, Woo Kuk-won, and Moon Hyung-tae will also go under the hammer.

A preview of the auction works will be held at K Auction's exhibition space in Sinsa-dong from October 17 through October 28, the day of the auction. Admission is free and does not require a reservation. Anyone may attend the live auction on the day, regardless of whether they are a member.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.