[ Art became the public’s new fun factor ]

For quite some time, the realm of ‘art’ belonged to a selected few. As capitalism evolved and technology advanced, the threshold has been lowering. Now people don’t stop at admiring and studying paintings, but they buy and sell paintings for investment purposes and make use of them for interior decoration; they are much more active with them. COVID-19 also had quite an impact on the popularization of art. As pandemic prolonged, people pursued static lifestyle rather than that of a more active one, and their consumption pattern also was directed to satisfying personal needs. This all led to ‘art’ becoming a new fun factor among the public.

Paintings, the Blue Chip of Investment Techniques

[ Nowadays, the MZ generation is taking interest in artworks for investment purposes ]

To the MZ generation, who are serious about investment, ‘art’ is an interesting means for investment. Unlike stocks or cryptocurrency, art has a smaller risk of devaluation, and the fact that it can be physically owned assures you. More than anything else, there’s the huge benefit of being free from taxes aside from when transferring them. Even when you do have to transfer, works that are less than 60,000,000 KRW of transfer cost or works by Korean living artists as of the date of transfer are exempt from taxes. This led to many people opening their wallets without any pressure; there’s even a new word ‘art-tech (art + investment technique).’

There are many ways to make money with paintings. You can loan your purchased artwork to galleries, public facilities, department stores, etc. for a cost, or make profit thanks to the increasing value of the artwork over time. These days many people are paying attention to joint purchasing, with which you can have an expensive work for a small price; you get to divide the ownership of the work according to the number of people purchasing the ownership to make profit. In this way, shares for Fernando Botero’s ’People Drinking’, which was valued to be around 500 million KRW, were sold out in just an hour and 24 minutes while Kim Hwan Gi’s ‘Untitled 10-V-68 #19’ raked in 150 million KRW in a minute.

People who Are Turning Their Houses into Galleries

‘Art’ is gaining greater presence in the interior market as well. With COVID-19, people have been spending more time at home and began to take interest in home interior. Art is a great way to intensively show off one’s taste while also livening up the atmosphere, just like wallpapers or furniture. Its advantages include easy replacement over seasons and mood changes, and above all, you cannot ignore the healing effect an artwork has on people through its colors. Many people are thus focusing on art interior.

You can see how big this craze is if you look at the performance of the artwork loan businesses. One business said that their 2nd half sales in 2020 increased by 44.7% compared to the previous year while their number of orders increased by 26% in the same period. TV home shopping, which can be said to be a big yardstick of consumption trend, also is selling art loan services; some celebrities have shown off their homes that they decorated with loaned artworks on their SNS.

Hyundai E&C, Servicing Culture and Art

[ Hyundai E&C began a housing service in relation to art, for the first time in the industry ]

To keep up with this trend, Hyundai E&C also began a housing service for their residents in relation to art, which is a first for the industry. In June, Hyundai E&C’s Art Service launched in HILLSTATE Pangyo LForet. This is an art service for the residents; they met with clients within the complex which had a camping car that was renovated to look like a gallery inside. Inside the camping car, there is an exhibition called ‘Old Future,’ which has been going on since June. This exhibition will take place at Pangyo LForet until July then continue on at The H Xi Gaepo in August. Works by renowned Korean artists including Kim Chang Yeol, Park Soo Geun, Pak Nam Jun, and Lee Joong Seop are included in the exhibition as well as the works by foreign artists such as Tom Wesselmann, Alighiero Boetti, Robert Indiana, Maurice Bouillot, etc.

[ After consulting the art consultant, you can hang an artwork at your home for 30 days ]

Hyundai E&C’s Art Service is a platform that connects the art creator and the consumer. It’s a service for both the artists who have less opportunities to hold exhibitions due to COVID-19 as well as the public who have less means to admire artworks. The residents can appreciate the original works by artists comfortably or also listen to the stories behind them upon meeting with the artists him/herself. Above all, what’s great is that you can loan the works. Through consultation with the art consultant, one can pick out an artwork that fits one’s needs and taste and have it hanging at home for 30 days.

[ From works by leading artists to novices; they plan to introduce more than 1,000 of various artworks ]

Hyundai E&C’s Art Service owns more than 1,000 original paintings and foreign prints and is continuously expanding their portfolio by participating in new galleries. They plan to provide various services like interacting with the artist, art education program, membership benefits, etc. in the future.

There’s a huge difference in appreciating an artwork once at a gallery and owning and admiring it at home every day. Even if you see the artwork every day, it makes you feel differently about it every single time. Hyundai E&C’s Art Service will provide their HILLSTATE residents not only the opportunity to appreciate artworks but also the experience to purchase and own them. Experience the wonder of getting million inspirations from a single artwork through Hyundai E&C’s Art Service.