Kim Whanki’s Blue Dot Painting Sells for KRW 1.23 Billion, Second-Highest Price for Korean Art
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
Kim Whanki’s 1971 blue-dot painting “19-VI-71 #206” fetched $8.4 million (about KRW 1.23 billion) at Christie’s New York 20th Century Evening Sale, with the final price including fees reaching $10.295 million (about KRW 1.51 billion). The sale marks the first time Korean art appeared in Christie’s New York evening sale and is the second-highest auction price for a Korean artwork, following Kim’s 2019 “Universe” (05-IV-71 #200). The large-scale work (254 × 203 cm) features radiating blue dots that create an expanding spatial effect; such large blue-dot paintings from this period are rare. Also sold at the same auction was Lee Ufan’s “From the Wind” (1986) for $1.524 million (about KRW 220 million). Kim’s “New York period,” shaped after his participation and award at the 1963 São Paulo Biennale, led to his abstract experiments and the development of the blue-dot series, despite early hardships including detained works in New York Harbor. (Christie’s is the auction house; blue-dot painting refers to Kim’s signature 점화 style)
