At the VIP preview of Frieze Seoul 2025 on September 3, Hauser & Wirth made headlines with the sale of Mark Bradford’s large-scale work Okay, then I apologize (2025). The piece was acquired by a private Asian collector for $4.5 million (approx. ₩6.2 billion) — the highest price ever recorded for a single artwork in the fair’s history.
The timing was notable: the unveiling of the piece coincided with Bradford’s ongoing retrospective Keep Walking at the Amorepacific Museum of Art (August 2025–January 2026), intensifying its visibility among Korean collectors and institutions.
According to Min-Kyung Park, director of Seongsu Tree Gallery and PR consultant for Hauser & Wirth Korea, the acquisition represents more than a market milestone.
She frames it as a turning point for both the Korean art scene and international gallery strategies. Park drew parallels between Bradford’s abstract exploration and Galileo’s heliocentric controversy — where conflict, suppression, and eventual reconciliation through apology serve as metaphors.
Though Bradford avoids explicit interpretation, circular motifs and contrasts between land and sea evoke layered meanings. The work extends the trajectory of Bradford’s presentation at the U.S. Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2017, but with greater maturity and audacity. “This is not just a market transaction,” Park emphasized. “
The work captures the right stage and the right audience sensibility. The very word ‘apology’ in the title forces us to reflect on reconciliation, responsibility, and suppressed histories, moving us beyond mere consumption into shared discourse.”
Key dynamics underscored by Park include
International Context: The overlap between Bradford’s Seoul retrospective and the Frieze sale amplified its impact.
Market–Exhibition Synergy: Domestic exhibitions and the Korean art market are increasingly interlinked.
Rising Asian Collectors: The purchase demonstrates both the purchasing power and cultural agency of Asian buyers.
Quality over Branding: Collectors are prioritizing thematic depth, social message, and artistic originality over name recognition alone.
This perspective, she argues, reflects a wider shift: from a market-driven model toward a quality-driven audience, where long-term resonance matters as much as financial value.
For Park, the sale symbolizes a structural change: “Korea is no longer just a consumer market. It has become a stage for presenting and proposing ideas to the global art world.”
Indeed, she notes, large-scale events like Frieze Seoul and KIAF are evolving from commercial platforms into cultural nodes for collectors, institutions, and artists. In this light, Okay, then I apologize resonates not only as an artwork but as a cultural statement — encapsulating themes of conflict, memory, and reconciliation while challenging the role of art in society today.
