Paik's 'Stag' breaks auction record

Paik Nam-june's video installation "Stag" (1996) was sold for a record price for the artist at Seoul Auction's 22nd Hong Kong sale, Sunday. / Yonhap

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Korean-born media artist Paik Nam-june's video installation was sold for 660 million won ($590,000), breaking the artist's previous record price.

Paik's "Stag" is an animal-shaped video sculpture consisting of four television monitors screening nude videos, produced in 1996. Being auctioned at Korean auction house Seoul Auction's 22nd Hong Kong sale on Sunday, the piece had a low starting price of HK$1 million, but the winning bid soared to HK$4.6 million.

Paik's previous record price was held by video sculpture "Wright Brothers," which sold for $540,000 at Christie's Hong Kong in 2007.

Despite being known as the father of video art, the prices for Paik's works have been underrated in the art market.

Seoul Auction CEO Lee Ok-kyung said, "Paik's works are undervalued, considering his achievements in art history. This auction will provide momentum for shedding new light on Paik's trailblazing works that pioneered media art."

Six pieces of Kim Heung-sou (1919-2014), also known as Kim Sou, also found new owners at the Hong Kong sale. His painting "Le Ciel S'ecroule," a major harmonism piece combining figurative and abstract forms on a canvas, fetched HK$ 3.8 million. The auction house said the works were featured at the sale's preview and collectors showed much interest, revaluing the artist internationally.

Works of other famous Korean artists such as Kim Whan-ki and Lee U-fan were also sold through the auction. Kim Whan-ki's "4-Ⅵ-74 #334" fetched HK$14.5 million.

A handful of Korean antiques, mostly ceramics from Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), were put for auction and eight out of nine were won by Koreans. The most expensive among them is a white porcelain bottle, which fetched HK$2.9 million won.

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