FRIEZE 2025 Frieze Seoul 2025 opens in shadow of uncertainty, hits milestone deals

Visitors fill the fourth edition of Frieze Seoul at COEX, Wednesday. Yonhap

A lingering slump pervades the global art market as inflation concerns, wars and U.S.-imposed tariffs fuel financial uncertainty, leaving collectors hesitant to open their wallets.

The malaise has rippled through this year’s international art fair circuit: Switzerland’s Art Basel has seen slipping sales among mega blue-chip galleries, while events like New York’s The Art Show and Taipei Dangdai have outright canceled their upcoming editions.

Korea has been no exception. Its market has steadily contracted since peaking in 2022, while also weathering political turbulence in the wake of last year’s martial law fiasco.

Into this fraught climate, two marquee art fairs — Frieze Seoul and Kiaf Seoul — returned side by side on Wednesday, opening with a VIP preview at COEX.

The fourth edition of Frieze brought together more than 120 galleries from 28 countries. High-profile attendees ranged from first lady Kim Hea Kyung, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and Malia Obama, daughter of former U.S. President Barack Obama, to K-pop stars like BTS’ RM and BLACKPINK’s Lisa.

First lady Kim Hea Kyung, right, looks at a painting as Kukje Gallery chairperson Lee Hyun-sook offers an explanation during the VIP preview of Frieze Seoul 2025 at COEX, Wednesday. Yonhap

Its comeback carried both weight and promise: the daunting specter of sluggish sales alongside a creative landscape aching for revitalization.

Yet amid the cautionary mood, a spark of confidence cut through when Hauser & Wirth scored the largest publicly announced deal in Frieze Seoul’s four-year history. The gallery placed Mark Bradford’s triptych, “Okay, then I apologize,” into a private Asian collection for $4.5 million.

It also sold a George Condo painting for $1.2 million. Adding to the momentum, the dealer presented Lee Bul’s pieces at its booth for the first time since announcing her representation in March; her metallic sculpture sold for $400,000 and a painting on silk velvet fetched $300,000.

Hauser & Wirth has placed Mark Bradford's triptych, "Okay, then I apologize," into a private Asian collection for $4.5 million, the largest publicly announced deal in Frieze Seoul's history. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth

“Bradford’s works have been made only for this fair. We also have fresh works by Condo and Rashid Johnson,” Lihsin Tsai, the gallery’s senior director, told The Korea Times. “We have been participating in Frieze Seoul since the beginning. For us, this is a long-term commitment. Korea remains one of the very important regions in our overall global map.”

The timing proved advantageous. Several of Hauer & Wirth’s artists currently hold major institutional solo exhibitions in Korea — Bradford at the Amorepacific Museum of Art, Louise Bourgeois at the Hoam Museum of Art and Lee Bul at the Leeum Museum of Art — amplifying their visibility on the ground.

Momentum carried across the fair floor. Thaddeus Ropac placed a Georg Baselitz for 1.8 million euros and an Alex Katz for $900,000, while White Cube sold another Baselitz for 1.3 million euros. On the Korean side, Hakgojae Gallery led the charge with the sale of Kim Whanki’s 1962 canvas for 2 billion won.

Takashi Murakami's 6-meter-long "Picture of the Blessed Lion Who Nestles with the Secrets of Death and Life" (2025) graces the booth of Gagosian at Frieze Seoul, Wednesday. Newsis

But that didn’t mean everyone was gravitating toward familiar blue-chip names. A number of exhibitors observed a growing appetite among collectors for fresher Asian voices at more accessible price points.

This year’s presentation by Kukje Gallery stood out for staging an unexpected dialogue between the monochrome “dansaekhwa” masters like Park Seo-bo and Ha Chong-hyun and a younger generation of visionary women artists: Jang Pa, Gala Porras-Kim and Lotus L. Kang, all of whom are either currently exhibiting with the gallery or preparing to in the near future.

“It’s remarkable how introducing several new names into the booth can really refresh its energy,” a gallery representative said, adding that while sales are essential, the lasting impression a booth leaves behind can be just as vital.

BTS' RM, right, views works by Gala-Porras Kim and Lee Seung-jio at Kukje Gallery's booth, Wednesday. Newsis

Moon Issac's organic sculptures, "Yunseul (The Shimmering) #55" (2025) and "The Shimmering #37" (2024), are on display at G Gallery's booth. Courtesy of G Gallery

Seoul-based G Gallery also reported strong interest and sales in young emerging artists working with distinct materials. Among them is Hwang Sue-yeon, whose paper collages are coated with countless layers of graphite until they gleam like hammered metal, and Moon Issac, who incorporates substances like glass collected from the Han River and mountain soil transformed into glaze to conjure organic sculptures.

Portugal’s Duarte Sequeira, a newcomer to Frieze Seoul but no stranger to the city with a gallery space established in 2022, spotlighted two rising Korean artists at his booth for the first time — sculptor Park Se-yoon and painter Kim Hyun-jin — underscoring his long-term investment in Seoul.

The dealer reflected on what it means to navigate the shifting tides of Korea’s art market in a season of caution. “The market does feel calmer than it did a few years ago. The recent political situation in Seoul and the exchange rates don’t help, and people are being a bit more careful,” he told The Korea Times.

In its Frieze Seoul booth, Portugese dealer Duarte Sequeira features two rising Korean artists for the first time: sculptor Park Se-yoon and painter Kim Hyun-jin. Courtesy of Duarte Sequeira

He described the pandemic years as an unsustainable surge. “That boom in the art market was not super healthy because it happened too abruptly. Many people collected a lot of works and expected their investments to pay off. And then, when the downturn came, selling or reselling wasn’t so easy. I think we’re paying now for what happened.”

Still, Sequeira sees the slowdown as an opportunity for recalibration. “Galleries have to adapt, and that can be a good thing. Sometimes you need change to adjust to reality, to rethink strategies and to move things around internally.”

That spirit of adaptation is reflected in some international dealers, who teamed up not only to run a joint booth at the fair but also open a collaborative gallery space in Seoul.

Berlin’s Meyer Riegger and Paris-based Galerie Jocelyn Wolff have launched Meyer Riegger Wolff in the city’s Hannam-dong neighborhood, led by director Gaia Musi.

Two European art dealers — Meyer Riegger and Galerie Jocelyn Wolff — have opened their collaborative gallery space, Meyer Riegger Wolff, in Seoul's Hannam-dong this month. Courtesy of Meyer Riegger Wolff

“Instead of being a branch of our existing galleries, this is a Korean gallery founded by two European owners,” co-founder Jochen Meyer explained. “It’s a different model that’s trying to engage more with the Korean community and be even more present.”

“We’ve been getting very positive feedback from collectors and institutions here for our research-oriented programs,” Musi added.

Inaugurating the new space is “Heute Nacht geträumt (Dreamed Last Night),” an exhibition of drawings spanning four centuries — from rare 18th-century astronomical illustrations to works by major contemporary artists such as Meret Oppenheim and Miriam Cahn.