Suh Yongsun, also Yong Sun Suh or Seo Young-Sun ( ko, 서용선; born 1951 in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

), is a Korean painter and sculptor. In his art he mainly portrays human existence. Suh lives and has his main studio in Gyeonggido near Seoul.

Life

Suh Yongsun studied Fine Arts at

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the thr ...

from 1975 to 1982 and worked as a professor at the College of Fine Arts at this University from 1986 to 2008. After withdrawing from his long-time professorship, he was elected Korea's Artist of the Year for 2009 and honored with a solo show at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, South Korea. He was invited to residency programs in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

in 1995 and to the

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Australia, both in 2006 and in 2010. He also worked at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), Metonymy, metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revo ...

in 2003. In 2001 he was a visiting professor in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, Germany.

Work

In his art, Suh brings together traditional Korean styles with Western and especially European influences such as

German Expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

and

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

. In the early 1980s he began with painting a series of pine trees. A few years later he changed to the topic of social and historic subjects. Since then he "explores various subjects including portrait, scenery, history, war, myth, etc, but he is most well known for his work expressing humanity in a metropolitan environment, as well as his historical series that depicts historical accidents." Visiting

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

strongly influenced his paintings, which often show urban scenes with roughly executed human figures that often appear masked.

Exhibitions

Suh Yongsun's artworks have been presented in many museums. * 2011: Festart,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan * 2011: galerie son, Berlin * 2010: "The Flower on the Snow", Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, Korea * 2009: "Artist of the Year", National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea * 2009: "Remembering the Future", Parksoogun Museum, Yanggu, Korea * 2009: "Beginning of New Era", National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea * 2005: Crecloo Art Gallery, New York, USA * 2004: Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea * 2004:

Gwangju Biennale The Gwangju Biennale is a contemporary art biennale founded in September 1995 in Gwangju, South Jeolla province, South Korea. The Gwangju Biennale is hosted by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation and the city of Gwangju. The Gwangju Biennale Founda ...

, Gwangju, Korea * 2001: Cultural department of the Korean Embassy, Berlin, Germany * 2001: The Traveling Museum, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, Gwacheon * 2001: Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea * 2001: Korean modern art: Reinstatement of painting, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea * 2001: Exposition de echanges interuniverstaires 2001, Galerie Bernanos, Paris, France * 2000: Contemporary Art from Korea,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

Palace, Beirut, Lebanon * 1999: Korea contemporary art - The sound of nature, Triangle Gallery, Calgary, Alberta, Canada * 1996: '96 Seoul Art Exhibition, Seoul City Museum, Seoul, Korea * 1995: Korea-China, Art Center, Seoul, Korea * 1993: Self Portrait Drawing, Swan Gallery, New York, USA * 1990: "Expression & Imagination", Contemporary Art Exchange Show, Dong-bang Museum of Art & Los Angeles Art Core Gallery, USA * 1987: 19th Cagnue International Painting Exhibition, Cagnue, France

Projects

* 2009: "The Wall in the World", Art Project, Berlin * 2008: Director of Tri Angle Project * 2007: Director of CheolAm Public Art Project (murals) * 2001: CheolAm mine village art project

Awards (selection)

* 2009: "Artist of the Year 2009" (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea)

Publications

* "1975-2007 SUH Yongsun I,II,III", Gallery 604,Busan, 2010 * "Artist of the Year 2009 SUH Yongsun", National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, Gwacheon, 2009 * "SUH Yongsun", Art Vivant, Sigongsa, Seoul, 1994

Notes

External links

* * Galerie Son website
English
an

on the website of the Goethe-Institut with a shor

Korea Digital Archives for the Arts - Suh Yongsun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suh, Yongsun 1951 births Living people South Korean painters South Korean contemporary artists South Korean sculptors Contemporary painters Postmodern artists People from Seoul Seoul National University alumni 20th-century sculptors