Suh Se Ok

New York

Sep 8–Oct 27, 2018September 8–October 27, 2018

536 W 22nd St

New York, NY 10011

Lehmann Maupin is pleased to announce its representation of Suh Se Ok, and the artist’s debut exhibition in New York. The 89-year-old South Korean artist will exhibit a number of works from People, his ongoing series of ink paintings produced between the 1960s and the 2000s. Made with extended brushes on large sheets of rice and mulberry paper, the works depict highly stylized human figures constructed from dashes and linear strokes that vary in scale, thickness, and tone. Each painting is made quickly, but only after an extended period of contemplation, and the result has a quiet but focused visual poetry that rewards repeated looking. The gallery will host an opening reception on Saturday, September 8, from 6 to 8 PM at 536 West 22nd Street.

As a classical technique, ink painting has long been distinguished by certain conventions. But beginning in the 1950s, Suh Se Ok began adapting the elements of what is known as “literati painting” called Muninhwa, derived from calligraphy and poetry and traditionally practiced by noble scholars. In this approach, Suh Se Ok developed a new, progressive and abstract visual language that refused the modernist spirit of heedless novelty in favor of one that also embraced and expanded on historical precedent. Suh Se Ok’s initial approach to the medium was then disruptive, but was also marked by great sensitivity and intelligence. Neither was he alone in his emphases; in 1959, he formed a group called the Mungnimhoe, or Ink Forest Society, which strived for unique styles of experimental ink painting that had its roots in literati painting.

Suh Se Ok

Dancing People, 2000s

Suh Se Ok

Person, 2000s

Suh Se Ok

People, 1990s

Suh Se Ok

People, 1995

Suh Se Ok

Two People, 1995

Suh Se Ok

Figure Drawing, 2003

Suh Se Ok (b. 1929, Daegu, South Korea; d. 2020, Seoul, South Korea) received a BFA from the Oriental Painting department of Seoul National University in 1950. Solo exhibitions of his work 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); Maison Hermes, Tokyo, Japan (2007); Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, South Korea (2007); and Uijae Art Museum, Gwangju, South Korea (2003), among others. Selected group exhibitions and international biennials featuring his work include Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing, LACMA, Los Angeles, CA (2019); Another History of Korean Contemporary Art, Museum of Art, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea (2016); College of Fine Arts Archives: Oriental Painting, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea (2015); Leeum 10th Anniversary Exhibition: Beyond and Between, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea (2014); Then and Now: Celebrating 60th Anniversary of The National Academy of Arts of The Republic of Korea, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung, South Korea (2014); Closer to Contemporary Art II-Abstract Art Is Real, Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Ansan, South Korea (2013); Busan Biennale 2008: ART IS ALIVE, Busan, South Korea (2008); and the 7th Biennial de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (1963), among others.

Suh received the Order of Cultural Merit – Gold medal in 2021, and Silver medal in 2012 from the South Korean government and was awarded the 52nd National Academy of Arts Award, South Korea in 2007; the Artistic and Culture Prize of 13th Federation of Artistic and Culture, South Korea in 1999; Ilmin Art Prize, Seoul, South Korea in 1994; an Honorary Doctorate from the Rhode Island School of Design Fine Art, Providence, RI in 1988; and the Prime Minister Prize at the 1st National Art Exhibition in 1949. His work is in numerous international public and private collections, including the British Museum, London, United Kingdom; Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan; Ho-Am Museum, Yongin, South Korea; Ministry of Culture, Paris, France; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea; Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI; Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario, Canada; Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea; Seoul National University Museum, Seoul, South Korea; Sonje Museum of Contemporary Art, Gyeongju, South Korea; USC Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA; Wonkwang University Museum, Iksan, South Korea; and the Yonsei University Museum, Seoul, South Korea.

Learn about the artist