Selection
People
Se-Ok SUH2024.01.31 ~ 2024.04.30
Description of the work
- Media ink on mulberry paper
- Location SIGNIEL SEOUL retreat SIGNIEL Spa 86F
Bordering between representational and abstract, Suh Se Ok’s works are vibrant and celebrate the properties of paper, ink, and brush. From early in his career Suh chose to play with variations of “dots” and “lines” instead of concrete forms in a quest to render light and shadow using ink alone.
The human “figures” that Suh rendered in his People series are abstract signs or symbolic gestures that illustrate relationship, movement, and the human feelings of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. Suh once stated, “Dots are connected to form a line and then further, a circle. And this circle circulates with no beginning or ending.” The artist’s explanation hinted at the possibility of infinity through a minimum unit while offering a reminder that humans are, ultimately, parts of the universe.
Embracing people of all ages, genders and ethnicities, Suh Se Ok’s People series represents the very essence of the artist's 70-year long career, transcending past and present and encompassing decades of art history from both East and West.
The human “figures” that Suh rendered in his People series are abstract signs or symbolic gestures that illustrate relationship, movement, and the human feelings of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. Suh once stated, “Dots are connected to form a line and then further, a circle. And this circle circulates with no beginning or ending.” The artist’s explanation hinted at the possibility of infinity through a minimum unit while offering a reminder that humans are, ultimately, parts of the universe.
Embracing people of all ages, genders and ethnicities, Suh Se Ok’s People series represents the very essence of the artist's 70-year long career, transcending past and present and encompassing decades of art history from both East and West.
About the author
Influenced by his father, who was a scholar and independence activist, and as the first generation of artists after the Japanese colonial period, Suh tried to remove vestiges of Japanese imperialism and trends from the West in the late 1950s. In 1960, he formed Mukrimhoe, or Ink Forest Society, and began experimenting with abstract ink painting by reinterpreting elements of Muninhwa, the literati painting embraced as part of leisure activities and meditation among intellectuals.
His works are on view in Lineages: Korean Art at The Met in Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY and in 2022, Lehmann Maupin Seoul presented Three Generations, an exhibition in memory of the artist. His solo exhibitions have been organized at Gallery Hyundai, Seoul, South Korea (2016); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea (2015); Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX (2008) among others.
His work is in numerous collections, including the British Museum, London, United Kingdom; Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Ho-Am Museum, Yongin, South Korea; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea; Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea and others.
His works are on view in Lineages: Korean Art at The Met in Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY and in 2022, Lehmann Maupin Seoul presented Three Generations, an exhibition in memory of the artist. His solo exhibitions have been organized at Gallery Hyundai, Seoul, South Korea (2016); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea (2015); Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX (2008) among others.
His work is in numerous collections, including the British Museum, London, United Kingdom; Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Ho-Am Museum, Yongin, South Korea; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea; Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea and others.
Se-Ok SUH (1929-2020, Korean)
BFA from the Oriental Painting department of Seoul National University
