Kim Whanki Painting Sells for $8.4M in New York Auction, Second-Highest Ever for Korean Art
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
At Christie’s New York '20th Century Evening Sale' on Nov. 17 (local time), Kim Whanki’s 1971 full-dot painting '19-VI-71 #206' was sold for $8.4 million (about ₩12.3 billion), reaching the second-highest auction price for a Korean artwork. Including buyer’s premium the total reached $10,295,000 (about ₩15.1 billion). The large-scale work (254 cm x 203 cm) features radiating blue dots that create a cosmic, transcendent space, with an emerald band adding depth. Kim Whanki developed his signature 'point painting' (jeomhwa) after participating in the 1963 São Paulo Biennale and moved to New York, focusing on all-over dot compositions from 1970; his 1971 works are often seen as his creative peak. This sale is second only to his 2019 Hong Kong record for 'Universe' (05-IV-71 #200), which fetched about ₩15.3 billion including fees. Also at the sale, Lee Ufan’s 'From the Wind' (1986) sold for $1.2 million (about ₩1.76 billion). The auction featured major modern masters such as Giacometti, Calder, Picasso, Chagall, Munch and David Hockney.
