Yoo Young-kuk's "Work" (1975) / Courtesy of Yoo Youngkuk Art Foundation

Despite a sluggish global art market and a persistent slump in top-tier auction sales, three Korean artists — Yoo Young-kuk, Rhee Seund-ja and Lee Bae — have emerged as surprise standout performers, according to the latest "Korea Art Market" report. Their remarkable rise in auction and fair sales follows the success of their solo exhibitions, all of which were featured as official collateral events at this year's Venice Biennale.

Published annually since 2022 by Seoul National University Business School and the Paradise Cultural Foundation, "Korea Art Market" is the first comprehensive English-language report analyzing trends and the current state of Korean art and the art market.

In its third edition, Cho Sang-in, a Seoul-based art journalist and director of the Baeksang Art Policy Research Institute, attributed the record-breaking sales of these homegrown creatives in part to the “Biennale Effect” — a phenomenon where exposure at a major biennial significantly boosts an artist's recognition and demand.

A similar trend was observed following the “Dansaekhwa” exhibition, a collateral exhibition at the 2015 Venice Biennale. This showcase catapulted the auction prices of monochromatic paintings by Kim Whanki, Lee Ufan, Park Seo-bo and Ha Chong-hyun, with some pieces experiencing a 10-fold increase in value.

Yoo Young-kuk's "Work" (1968) / Courtesy of Yoo Youngkuk Art Foundation

Two late bloomers, one contemporary art star

Yoo (1916-2002) was a pioneer of postwar Korean abstract modernism, renowned for distilling the essence of the nation's natural landscapes into basic formal elements of dots, lines, planes and colors.

While he was a celebrated name in his home country, his international acclaim only began posthumously, following the 2023 announcement of joint representation of his estate by blue-chip Pace Gallery in New York and Seoul-based PKM Gallery.

In April, during the Venice Biennale, “A Journey to the Infinite” was staged as the first European showcase that highlighted the painter's creative zenith from the 1960s and '70s.

Previously, Yoo's auction record was set in 2021, when “Soul” (1965) fetched 1.27 billion won ($884,000) at Seoul Auction. At Frieze Seoul 2024, however, which came just months after the Biennale's opening, his geometric color painting from the '60s sold for $1.5 million, marking a significant leap. It was also one of the few seven-figure sales at the art fair.

“Yoo Young-kuk's works have yet to appear at (major) international auction houses like Christie's or Sotheby's. However, as his Venice Biennale exhibition garners further attention, museum exhibitions abroad are likely to follow, paving the way for his debut on the global auction stage,” Cho wrote.

Rhee Seund-ja's "Ojak-kio" (1965), left, and "A World without Obstacle" (1968) / Courtesy of Seundja Rhee Foundation, Gallery Hyundai

Painter Rhee Seund-ja at her Paris atelier in 1977 / Courtesy of Seundja Rhee Foundation, Gallery Hyundai

Another late bloomer is Rhee (1918-2009), regarded as Korea's only female first-generation abstractionist. Over her six-decade career, which flourished after her move to France in 1951, the artist harmonized opposites on canvas — East and West, man and woman, nature and machinery.

Her solo show in Venice this year, “Towards the Antipodes,” brought together 20 of her masterpieces at the curatorial helm of Bartomeu Mari, former director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea.

Since then, Rhee's market momentum has gained substantial traction. In May, “The Mountain without Shadow” (1962) sold for 1.51 billion won (HK$8.19 million or $1.05 million) at Christie's Hong Kong — a notable jump from its previous sale of 96 million won at K Auction in 2009.

That record was shattered yet again in September, when “Never Seen the Memories of a Tree” (1963-65) fetched 1.85 billion won (HK$10 million or $1.29 million) at Christie's.

Installation view of Lee Bae's exhibition, "La Maison de La Lune Brûlée," at the Fondation d'Entreprise Wilmotte in Venice / Courtesy of Johyun Gallery

Meanwhile, Lee is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after living Korean creatives in the international art market.

His best-known “Issu du Feu” series revolves around charcoal, a material created by burning wood and used to rekindle fire. For the artist, charcoal symbolizes the profound natural cycle of destruction and renewal.

During the Venice Biennale, his solo exhibition, “La Maison de La Lune Brûlée,” took cues from “daljip taeugi” (moon house burning), a Korean folk ritual where a massive wooden pyre is ignited on the first full moon of the lunar new year to ward off evil spirits. Alongside “Issu du Feu,” the show featured pieces from his recent “Brushstroke” series, which he began in 2020 to expand the use of charcoal into the realms of ink and calligraphy.

The show's impact was swift. A month after its opening, “Brushstroke 3-88” (2021) sold for 220 million won (HK$1.19 million or $153,000) at Christie's Hong Kong, fetching more than three times its estimated value.