Results for K Auction’s Hong Kong sale on May 29 hinted that demand for Dansaekhwa — a Korean monochrome painting style — continues to be strong.Fetching a total of HK$51,395,773 (US$6,616,289), with 85 percent sold by lot, the K Auction sale attracted a varied international group of buyers hailing from more than 10 countries, with particularly strong interest seen from Mainland Chinese, American, and European collectors.The top lot of the sale was Kim Whanki’s “Untitled,” 1964-1965, which fetched HK$6.7 million (US$862,505), barely below its lower estimate of HK$6.8 million.Also scraping its low pre-sale estimate was auction favorite Park Seo-Bo’s “Ecriture No. 214-85,” 1985, which sold for a hammer price of HK$4,066,788 (est. HK$4.1-5.5 million).Other lots by key Dansaekhwa artists performed respectably, testifying to the growing market for quality paintings from this movement. Yun Hyong-Keun’s “Umber Blue,” 1975-1978, sold for HK$1.6 million (est. HK$8,20,000-2 million). An untitled canvas by Chung Sang-Hwa from 1978 garnered HK$220,000, while another untitled work by Kwon Young-woo, reckoned to be dated after 1980, went for HK$115,000.
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