Recap: Scandal, Love and Women in Foam on Show at Singapore Galleries, Yazzy's at www.williamverdult.com

According to Bloomberg -- A global share sell-off and a probe of Samsung Group's art cache have rocked the financial markets and South Korea's art scene. It's a brave time to mount an exhibition of Korean artists.

``First Steps -- New Art From South Korea'' has works from 12 artists, including two of Bae Joon Sung's lenticular images that derobe female subjects as you change your viewing angle, and a selection of Kim Joon's digitally enhanced, life-size photographs of tattooed people. Prices range from $7,000 to $70,000.

``The world economy is getting worse and worse, yet the art market is getting higher and higher,'' said Chris Bae, an art consultant who represents artists at the show. ``We have to overcome this crisis, but the good collectors will be left in the market.''

One of South Korea's biggest collectors, who helped push up prices of works by young Korean artists, is under investigation. This week, officials carried out a raid on warehouses owned by Samsung Everland, where they found thousands of paintings, Agence France-Presse reported. The raid was part of an investigation into alleged illegal payments and art purchases. Samsung has denied the allegations.

At the Singapore show, some of the pictures seem tailored to please Asian contemporary-art collectors. Shin Myoungsun's Amita series shows a naked woman, modeled after a Japanese film star, daubing herself with foam on a traditional lotus pedestal normally associated with Buddha. Kim Dong-Yoo's portrait of Mao Zedong is made of tiny images of Marilyn Monroe, the reverse of his picture sold at Christie's in 2006 in Hong Kong (which was composed of Mao images.)

Blood Suckers

Scattered around the warehouse-like gallery are flesh- creeping, life-size sculptures by Lee You-Jin showing women with scaly spines or covered in giant metal flies and mosquitoes sucking blood.

``There are two camps -- one says it's grotesque, the other says it's beautiful,'' said Lee at the Jan. 19 opening of the exhibition. ``I don't think those two opposites are really far apart.''

Nearby, a Ralph Steadman-like ink-and-color drawing labeled ``Fly Away Home'' by Yim Tae Gyu shows a manic, outsize pilot in goggles and flying hat screaming toward the ground in a yellow jet, grasping a dislocated steering wheel. Hopefully not an analogy for the market.