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| Suh Min-hee, Phillips' newly appointed regional director of Korea / Courtesy of Phillips |
By Park Han-sol
Phillips, one of the leading global auction houses along with Christie's and Sotheby's, has appointed Suh Min-hee as the new regional director of Korea.
Founded in 1796 in Westminster, London, Phillips focuses on sales in a select number of categories: 20th- and 21st-century art, design, photographs, editions, watches and jewelry.
The auction company made a foray into the Asian art market in 2015 by holding its first auction in Hong Kong. It opened a regional office in the posh Hannam-dong neighborhood of Seoul's Yongsan District in 2018. In 2021, the firm reported that transactions in global auctions from Korean collectors were up 323 percent compared to the previous year.
In time for the inaugural edition of Frieze Seoul in early September, Phillips hosted its first-ever curated exhibition in Korea titled "New Romantics," bringing the works of a pioneering generation of 23 contemporary artists who seek to revive a distinct spirit of Romanticism.
"I am delighted to welcome Min-hee to Phillips as we are building extraordinary momentum in South Korea," said Jonathan Crockett, the auction house's chairman for Asia, in a statement. "South Korea is indeed one of the world's fastest grow[ing] art markets and we feel the time is right to expand our footprint here."
"Our office will continually strive to serve as a window for Phillips to expand its presence in Korea and assist collectors here to smoothly take part in its international auctions," Suh said at a press luncheon in Seoul, Monday.
"With Phillips being an auction house that concentrates on the sale of 20th- and 21st-century art, I believe that one of the Seoul office's roles lies in introducing the contemporary art of Korea to the global art circle. I hope to be able to contribute to building a diversified profile of Korean art by discovering and presenting promising artists here ― in addition to already well-known masters ― on the international stage," she added in a statement.
Prior to joining Phillips, the director served as a senior specialist in modern and contemporary art for K Auction, one of the established Korean auction houses, securing consignments for major auctions and private sales as well as planning live and online auctions in Seoul and Hong Kong for over 12 years.
She has also previously held posts at the Japan Society in New York City, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York.
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