Art on Fire
Published on 11. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-915590-90-9 (ISBN)
Description
A darkly comic and compelling satire of the art world from the author of The Disaster Tourist.
An Yiji's career had been stalling for some time when a representative of the illustrious Robert Foundation offers her a spot on their all-expenses-paid artist residency in California. The residency has launched many famous artists' careers, so she knows she can't waste this opportunity. Still, she feels reluctant to accept, and with good reason: the foundation's patron is a small dog named Robert, known for both his talent as a photographer, but also his arrogance. Moreover, the offer comes with a condition: on the last day of the residency, one of An's paintings must be incinerated, and Robert gets to select which one.
When An reaches California, she finds the state ablaze with wildfires, but at the Foundation all is calm. She navigates awkward dinners with Robert, tries to find inspiration while being bombarded with sponsors who all want their business to be the subject of her art, and despairs at the prospect of her work being set on fire. Was coming to California a huge mistake?
An Yiji's career had been stalling for some time when a representative of the illustrious Robert Foundation offers her a spot on their all-expenses-paid artist residency in California. The residency has launched many famous artists' careers, so she knows she can't waste this opportunity. Still, she feels reluctant to accept, and with good reason: the foundation's patron is a small dog named Robert, known for both his talent as a photographer, but also his arrogance. Moreover, the offer comes with a condition: on the last day of the residency, one of An's paintings must be incinerated, and Robert gets to select which one.
When An reaches California, she finds the state ablaze with wildfires, but at the Foundation all is calm. She navigates awkward dinners with Robert, tries to find inspiration while being bombarded with sponsors who all want their business to be the subject of her art, and despairs at the prospect of her work being set on fire. Was coming to California a huge mistake?
Reviews / Votes
'The photo, the crime, the dog, and the artist. I kept asking myself: is this for real? I couldn't stop wondering and couldn't stop reading either. Yun Ko-eun is such a master storyteller, and this translation immaculately reflects her style. So many disparate events are happening in this novel and yet they are all convincingly probable. In the end, I am left pondering about reality. About how we all live once before we burn.' -- Bora Chung, author of <i>Cursed Bunny</i> 'Art on Fire, by turns comical and apocalyptic, is a brilliant satire of the art world, late-stage capitalism, and climate change ... [An] enjoyable romp through our current plutocratic hellscape, with Yun Ko-eun skewering the sacred cows of fine art and the oligarchs who buy it.' * Driftless Area Review * 'Yun Ko-eun gloriously takes on the art world, hysterically, delectably, thoroughly exposing its gatekeepers, makers, and audiences.' -- Terry Hong * Shelf Awareness * 'Yun Ko-eun is back with another darkly humorous and biting satire ... The creation, commodification, and celebration of art will leave an indelible mark in readers' minds.' -- Andrienne Cruz * Booklist * 'Yun Ko-eun puts a lighted match to our present-day bonfire of the vanities, and the result is a memorably bizarre spectacle.' -- Simon Morley, author of <i>Modern Painting: A Concise History</i> 'Yun Ko-eun's surgical satire on the age-old war between art and commerce has never felt this fresh and this relevant.' -- Sean Ellis, film director Praise for The Disaster Tourist:'A fresh and sharp story about life under late capitalism ... an entertaining eco-thriller.' * The Guardian * Praise for The Disaster Tourist:
'The forces pitched against Yona reveal their true scale and monstrosity in a frothy-seeming satire that, in the end, shreds the very idea of commerce to bleeding tatters. I'd say this was a perfect short novel for reading on the beach, but given what's in store ...' -- Simon Ings * The Times * Praise for The Disaster Tourist:
'Throughout The Disaster Tourist, there is a sense of impending catastrophe, of something huge and uncontrollable swallowing up those who spend their lives packaging, controlling, and creating these macabre tours ... Phenomenal.' * The Spectator * Praise for The Disaster Tourist:
'Excellent ... a plain rendering of the extraordinary.' * The Irish Times *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
232 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-915590-90-9 (9781915590909)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Yun Ko-eun is the winner of 2021 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. Her prizewinning novel, The Disaster Tourist, was nominated for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Rosetta Award, Comedy Women in Print Award, and the Dublin Literature Award. She hosts a daily radio program EBS Book Cafe in South Korea.
Lizzie Buehler is the translator of The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun and Korean Teachers by Seo Su-jin. She holds an MFA in literary translation from the University of Iowa and has studied comparative literature at Princeton and Harvard.
Lizzie Buehler is the translator of The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun and Korean Teachers by Seo Su-jin. She holds an MFA in literary translation from the University of Iowa and has studied comparative literature at Princeton and Harvard.