Suh Jeong Min 2010 - 2014 by JanKossen Art

Published by JanKossen Contemporary Ltd

Suh Jeong Min 2010 - 2014

Suh Jeong Min

2010 - 2014

Cover Traces of Sound in Spiritual Grains Detail Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 150 X182cm / 59”x72” inches 2013 Left Festival VII Detail Korean Hanji Paper on wooden frame 73 x 60 cm 2012

Content The art of Suh Jeong Min

8 - 13

Im Malstrom der Piktogramme

13 - 17

The Mandala Series

18 - 23

The Flow Series

24 - 33

The Element Series

34 - 41

The Rolled Prayers Series

42 - 47

The Korean Roof Series

48 - 57

Biography

58 - 59

Impressum

Installation view left and on page. 8 Whispers from Above, 2010 Right Meditation of thought 2012 pg.9 Lines of Energy III Korean Hanji Paper on wooden frame 73 x 60 cm 2012

The art of

Suh Jeong Min T

he artwork of Suh Jeong-min employs

the trunk of a cut-down tree with its annual rings.

the timeless structures of geometry while

These are affixed to the support by Suh with a rice-

simultaneously pursuing an idiosyncratic

based glue in either a fairly ordered way, or more

aesthetic that combines cultural references with

randomly to create specific visual effects. He cuts

unusual formal techniques. These elegant and

each piece by hand, eschewing machinery for the in-

somewhat imposing works are neither painting nor

tentional imprecision of the personal touch.

sculpture, yet have properties of both, and extend

The paper Suh uses is called hanji, and is made

recent trends in art such as the privileging of material

from the inner bark of Mulberry trees. This paper

and the use of language into new territory. For some

is usually formed into laminated sheets that are

viewers, Suh’s artwork will arouse curiosity about

pounded to compact the wood fibers, giving it great

Korean culture through its attractive, tactile surfaces,

resilience and durability. The world’s oldest surviving

while others more familiar with his materials will find

wood block print, the Buddhist “Pure Light Dharani

themselves rediscovering these materials in new and

Sutra,” which is Korea’s National Treasure No. 126,

unexpected ways.

was printed on hanji in c. 704 and is still in good

Suh builds up each artwork through an accumu-

condition. Hanji is so sturdy that it was used to make

lation of discrete units of paper rolled into tubes or

furniture such as cabinets and trays, and as a window

overlaid so that they resemble thin blocks of wood.

covering.

Each one contains so many individual paper scraps

As a craft unique to Korea, hanji is considered

compressed together that when they are cut by him

integral to the culture, and so its use by artists can be

their ends resemble the horizontal cross section of

considered an acknowledgment of this traditional

craft, albeit in a distinctly non-craft way. Its use also shows how an aspect of culture long superseded by technological changes can continue in a transformation from the commonplace to the exceptional §vthrough an artist’s innovative methods. In earlier works on paper Suh used graphite to build up geometric shapes in varying densities, and has retained this compositional device in the wall pieces. From afar, the overall geometry and patterns within them, made by the arrangement of lighter and darker paper units, give some of these works the appearance of an updated take on the mandala, a schematized representation of the cosmos through a configuration of geometric shapes, here without images of deities. In other pieces Suh arranges the paper units in subtle tonal shifts from light grey to grey-green or blue, or bright yellows and reds, making imagery that appears to hover just outside perception, like distant galaxies seen through a telescope, or fields of grain. These paper units, whether arrayed in concentric circles, set side by side in rows, or set on top of each other like hastily stacked lumber, have a dense bodily presence, and give these works, despite the lightness of the material, a visual weightiness, owing in part to their scale—many of them are the height of an average person and as wide as a picture window. While paper has the connotations of flimsiness and fragility, no such impression is given by Suh’s work—quite the opposite is true. They appear to be as solid as a building, and although made up of flexible, organic elements, are quite substantial in their final form. They command the wall in a way that causes viewers to take them in from afar as minimalist constructions before their variegated surfaces come into play. These artworks share the characteristic of raised surfaces with wall-relief sculpture, yet are diffusely

colored and patterned, like painting. Crossing techiques of two-dimensional painting with those

mal collaboration among peers. He

seems

acknowledge

of three-dimensional sculpture, Suh conflates

this implicit collaboration in the

figure and ground so that form creates image. Their

piece titled “A Forest of Writing,”

merger does not feel forced in this work, but rather

in which the ends of the paper

natural in the sense that he is true to the nature of

tubes are seen tightly packed to-

the material.

gether, where the title suggests

On closer inspection, the individual units of rolled

a profusion of language hidden

and compressed paper give the work a density and

from view, crowded into a sort

presence unlike a typical painting, and command

of archive. The title also echoes a

the eye with their teeming mass and detail. The

line in the poem “Correspondenc-

surface abounds with tiny variations in tone and

es” by the poet and critic Charles

texture, rewarding a prolonged interaction. Even

Baudelaire: “Man passes through

the edges of the paper units, cut on the diagonal

forests of symbols,” ones that the

or through a block, show infinitesimal variety. The

artist is more responsive to than

ink that can be seen bleeding through the paper

others are. This work, like the oth-

on the incised edges of the rolled-up tubes hint at

ers, presents a topography of the

the contents within, causing the viewer to wonder

structural

at their hidden messages.

artists in the cumulative effect of

relationship

among

all these individual paper pieces,

porary art, yet the captivating surface of each work

Suh’s artwork generates its unique properties, for

each an artwork in itself, pressed into a sort of sur-

ultimately derives its formal power by packing in

each scrap of paper comes from other artists’ dis-

vey of artistic endeavor.

countless pieces of paper marked up in keeping

It is in the unseen core of the paper units that

with an ancient mode of art making.

cards. Traditional calligraphy and literati ink paint-

One can then see in the ink stains and irregular

ings on paper scrolls are cut up to make the paper

pigmentation in this work a re-working of tradi-

units, and so their origin as artworks in their own

tional Asian painting to bring it into the modern-

accumulations of pre-made or found material in

right is subsumed into Suh work, like individuals

ist practice of forefronting materials with minimal

their work, such as Arman and John Chamberlin,

gathered into a society.

change to their characteristics. What appears to be

Suh differs from them in choosing the paper

Suh compresses these multitudes of creations,

a severance from Asian painting in Suh’s work is in-

scrolls, which arise from traditional Asian artistic

the fits and starts, warm-up exercises and failed at-

stead a continuity of the practice in a new guise,

practices, as well as being handmade rather than

tempts, scrawls of ink that seemed important at the

renewed and updated by switching from images

manufactured. Another key difference is that Suh’s

time, only later to be found lacking, into these rolls

created by brushing ink onto paper, to the paper

work does not stem from popular culture per se,

of cut paper, making their origins unrecognizable

itself, along with its incidental marks and colors,

but from the deeper currents of traditional culture

and anonymous, while preserving them and even

creating an overall form and image.

made relevant to a contemporary audience through

While

some

Western

artists

have

used

celebrating their collective authors. Rather than

Again, Suh blurs the distinctions between paint-

a transformation of materials, as mentioned earlier.

being seen as wasted efforts, the castoffs Suh has

ing and sculpture with these pieces, in keeping

The edges of some of Suh’s works have readable

gathered to make his work become a sort of infor-

with the pervasiveness of multimedia in contem-

snippets of hangeul, the Korean language, suggesting signage or captions, although they

probably function more as abstract forms placed

artworks.

randomly. Viewers not familiar with the language

In Suhâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s artwork one can sense an attentiveness

might be interested to know that hangeul is a

to time-honored practices in Asian art, particularly

phonetic script, rather than a logographic one in

the craft of papermaking in Korea and scroll

the case of written Chinese, and can be printed both

painting, along with an innovative approach to

horizontally and vertically. It too, along with the type

these practices that distills their material essence.

of paper it appears on in Suhâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work, is indigenous to

Traditions that have been marginalized by the

Korea and reinforces the uniqueness of these pieces

onward rush of technological progress are given a

in relation to the milieu in which they were made.

privileged status for contemporary viewers, a new

In other pieces, the paper, rather than being tightly

relevance that might have seemed unattainable

rolled or stacked, is layered in stacks or shaped into

before. Suh presents aspects of Korean culture in a

massive rolls, suggesting modern printing presses

non-historicized, vital way in artwork that extends

and the industrial uses of paper, although Suh

the formal possibilities of contemporary art.

maintains the allusion to scroll painting by adding a wash of ink around them that bleeds into the canvas support. Suh has also continued to use graphite in more recent works, this time not for making drawings, as was mentioned earlier, but in wall pieces with apertures in them that contain dozens of colorful pencil stubs spilling out onto a thickly applied graphite field. These playful works allude to their own making by including the tools that created their dense, dark grey surfaces. The square and rectangular openings holding the pencils echo the similar geometric shapes found in his other works. Prior to making the constructions with hanji paper Suh painted landscapes in an area of the Korean countryside where communities still live in traditional-styled homes, called hanok in Korean. Seen from above clustered together, these homes, with their distinctive colored-tile roofs, are rendered as nearly abstract horizontal bands that cut across

the composition in his paintings. The choice of imagery indicates Suhâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attraction to traditional culture while already hinting at the shift toward abstraction he would make in the more recent

Michael Anderson is an artist and curator who has written extensively for publications in the U.S. such as Art in America and Art Issues, as well as international magazines and journals.

Memories of Freedom Cries, 2013 3.5 x 5 meters Installation view Palazzo Bembo exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x153;Personal Structuredsâ&#x20AC;? during the 2013 Venice Biennale.

Im Malstrom der Piktogramme

Suh Jeong Min

aufeinander

Vorstellung ist dieser Malstrom das Rad der Wie-

zermahlen und auf ihren Inhalt reduziert sind. In

drehen, bilden einen sogenannten

dergeburten, das Samsara, worin die karmischen

der dargestellten Bezüglichkeit von Ursache und

Mahlgang, in dem das Mahlgut, die

Altlasten früherer Existenzen sich abschleifen,

Wirkung, Prozess und Produkt, Form und Stoff

Getreidefrucht, gemahlen wird. Dabei löst sich

damit die Seele, endlich rein gemahlen, am Ende

liegt die Besonderheit und die Faszination der Ar-

von den einzelnen Körnern, die zuvor von der

ins Nirvana abgelöst werden kann und die Da-

beiten von Suh Jeong Min.

Spreu getrennt wurden, die Schale, die als Kleie

seinsfaktoren sich nicht wieder erneut zu neuem

abgesondert wird. Zurück bleibt der Inhalt des

Leben vermischen müssen.

ahlsteine,

die

sich

Seiner künstlerischen Herkunft nach steht Suh in der Tradition der Tuschemalerei seines Heimat-

Korns, der in Form von Mehl als konzentrierter

Die reliefartigen, abstrakten Bildobjekte des

landes. Er malte anfänglich mit Tusche auf Reis-

Nährstoff zur Erzeugung von Grundnahrungs-

koreanischen Künstlers Suh Jeong Min erwecken

papier und wählte dabei bevorzugt Landschaften,

mitteln wie dem Brot dient. Gleichwohl der Vor-

beim Betrachter den Eindruck, als sei in ihnen der

in denen der optische Eindruck der Natur durch

gang das Samenkorn aufbricht und zerstört, wird

Malstrom des Samsara ebenso sichtbar wie ver-

die geometrischen Strukturen der in traditioneller

im Mahlgang das Mahlgut auf sein Wesensge-

borgen am Werk. Dabei fallen in diesem metaph-

Bauweise errichteten Häuser unterbrochen ersch-

halt hin aufgewertet, sein verborgenes Inneres

ysischen Prozess Mahlgang und Mahlgut in eins

ien. Die abstrakt wirkenden Lineaturen der Land-

erschlossen. Der Prozess der Transformation, der

zusammen. Die teils im Kreis, teils in linearer For-

schaftsansichten lenkten Suh dann allerdings

bei dieser „Veredelung“ stattfindet, gleicht meta-

mation angeordneten einzelnen Grundelemente

darauf, den abstrakten Formgesetzen selbst und

phorisch dem Malstrom des Lebens, in dem sich

der Objekte wirken in ihrer Gesamtheit und in

unabhängig von realen Gegenständen zu folgen,

fortwährend die Spreu vom Weizen trennt, una-

ihrem Allover wie ein sich drehender Mühlstein

um mittels konstruktiver Abstraktion autonome

blässig Existenz sich auf ihre Essenz reduziert und

oder wie ein im Ablauf und auf dem Fließband be-

Bildwelten zu schaffen. Das Material dafür fand er

das menschliche Dasein auf seinen Sinngehalt

findlicher Mahlprozess, während sie in sich selbst

im Medium Papier, das ihm bis dahin als Malgrund

heruntergebrochen wird. Nach buddhistischer

zugleich wie Samenkörner erscheinen, die bereits

gedient hatte. Er formte es um und nutzte es fortan

nicht länger als Fläche, sondern entwickelte daraus

des Hanji-Papiers in eine inhaltliche Gegebenheit.

sein Seelenzustand und damit seine karmische

die Bausteine seiner geschichteten Agglomerate. Er

Ähnlich wie die abstrakte Moderne des Westens Ma-

Situation

verwendet dabei das aus dem Splint des Maulbeer-

terial und verwendete „Fundstücke“ (objet trouvé)

verwendet Suh nun aber nicht in aller Deutlichkeit

baums hergestellte koreanische Hanji-Papier, das

in einen erweiterten Sinnzusammenhang stellt und

und Deutbarkeit, sondern sie erscheinen in der

eine besondere Festigkeit und Haltbarkeit besitzt

zum Inhalt erklärt, sieht auch Suh im Papier einen

Form eines Palimpsests, worin das Geschriebene

und deswegen auch zur Fertigung von Möbeln und

Bedeutungsträger, der die bloße Stofflichkeit tran-

völlig anonymisiert ist und seinem Inhalt nach nicht

als Füllmaterial von Trennwänden und Fenstern

szendiert.

mehr vollständig rekonstruiert werden kann. Dies

sichtbar

wird.

Die „Seelenzeichen“

herangezogen wird. Indem Suh den traditionellen

Suh verweist auf diese Transzendenz, indem

entspricht wiederum der Vorstellung vom Karma,

Gebrauchswert des Materials Papier in den Grund-

er das Papier nicht als „unbeschriebenes Blatt“

das seiner Entstehung nach nur schwer einer

stoff seiner künstlerischen Produktion transponiert,

verwendet. Analog zum Verständnis karmischer

eindeutigen Ursache und damit einer konkreten

bewahrt er es als althergebrachtes Kulturgut und

Gesetzmäßigkeiten, wonach das Dasein als lebende

Konstellation zuzuweisen ist.

schenkt ihm zugleich eine neue Wertigkeit und ein-

Existenz stets seine Ursache in der leidvollen und

en höheren Bedeutungsgehalt. Seine widerstands-

schuldhaften Verstrickung

des Daseienden und

terials mit den verundeutlichten „Seelenzeichen“

fähige Konsistenz wird zum symbolischen Ausdruck

seiner vorangegangenen Leben hat, zieht Suh für

zu bewerkstelligen und daraus ein konstruktives

für die Zähigkeit und Nachhaltigkeit, mit der die

seine Arbeiten Papier heran, das mit Schriftzeichen

Kunstobjekt zu schaffen, rollt Suh das beschrie-

elementaren Daseinsfaktoren und die karmischen

und Piktogrammen beschrieben ist, also Spuren und

bene Papier unter starkem Druck zusammen, so

Existenzialien den Malstrom des Samsara und den

Zeichen vorhandener Existenzen in bestimmten

dass die Zeichen lediglich als Pigmentspuren durch

Kreislauf der Wiedergeburten in Gang halten. Suh

Daseinsbezügen trägt. In den Kalligraphien wird die

die Transparenz der gerollten Schichten hindurch-

verwandelt auf diese Weise das stoffliche Material

Gemütslage des Schreibenden transparent, wodurch

scheinen. Zusätzlich zerschneidet Suh dann noch

Um die Verknüpfung des karmischen Trägerma-

Meditation of thought Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 150 x 150 cm 2012 Left page Blessings from Above 2012 Detail

die Papierrollen in zwei Hälften oder in Viertelstücke

die Anmutung eines Schwarms offenbaren Suh’s

und zerteilt sie in einheitlich lange Stäbchen. Da-

Arbeiten jedoch den in sich ruhenden Ausdruck für

durch wird der Sinngehalt der vormals kalligraphi-

die permanente Bewegtheit des metaphysischen

erten Piktogramme ein weiteres Mal zerschnitten

Malstroms, in die die Einzelwesen wie das Dasein

und unkenntlich gemacht. Die übrig gebliebenen

überhaupt eingetaktet sind.

Schreibspuren dienen nur noch als immanente

Indem Suh Jeong Min das Basismaterial Papier

Farbkomponenten, die allein für die Gesamtkom-

und die Ausdrucksform der Kalligraphie als

position des Objekts von Bedeutung sind. Denn die

traditionelle Bestandteile fernöstlicher Kultur auf

im Zerschnitt gefertigten Einzelelemente werden

kunstfertige Weise in einen neuen, abstrakten

nun als zugerichtete Bausteine ihrem Farbgehalt

Bedeutungszusammenhang bringt und den dabei

nach verwendet und entweder in gleichgerichteter

entstandenen innovativen Sinngehalt zugleich mit

Schichtung oder in Kreuzlagen mit- und überein-

der buddhistischen Vorstellungswelt verbindet,

ander zu einer übergeordneten Struktur verleimt.

stellt er seine Kunst in den Kontext der globalen

Dadurch entsteht der strukturale und semi-skulp-

Begegnung der Kulturen und eröffnet einen

turale Charakter der Objekte. Jedes Einzelteil fügt

Zugang

sich dabei in das übergeordnete Modul, bleibt aber

und den daraus hervorgehenden künstlerischen

zugleich in seiner individuellen Einzigartigkeit sich-

Ausdrucksformen. Sein Werk steht darum im

tbar, da kein Element dem anderen gleicht. Die vek-

Wesentlichen für die Grundhaltung der Toleranz,

toral ausgerichtete Gleichförmigkeit der Teile in-

die eine solche Begegnung der Kulturen erst

nerhalb des Gesamten lässt den Betrachter an das

ermöglicht.

Phänomen des Schwarmverhaltens denken, bei dem es eine ähnliche Wechselwirkung zwischen In-

andersartigen Vorstellungsweisen

Peter Hank, Jahrgang 1954, ist Leiter der Städtischen Galerie Fruchthalle Rastatt

dividuen und Gesamtverband gibt. Mehr noch als

The Mandala Series

he artwork of Suh Jeong-min employs the timeless structures of geometry while simultaneously pursuing an idiosyncratic aesthetic that combines cultural references with unusual formal techniques. These elegant and somewhat imposing works are neither painting nor sculpture, yet have properties of both. The paper Suh uses is made out of Buddhist prayer rolls from Korean hanji, produced from the inner bark of Mulberry trees. These “borrowed” prayers are glued, rolled then cut, and are fixed on a wooden frame to create large relief, mandala-like works. Against the infinity of the universe, a circular mandala invites us to contemplate the concept of how belief is a circular rhythm that provides us with strength, stability and a sense of “oneness”. In his series The absence of wordly desire Suh invites us to “lose ourselves” in the karmic wheel of life. In his signature work Spiritual Grains (opposite), Suh gives us a circular wheel; an almost hypnotic, central focal point. The circle calls us to “loose ourselves” in the endless karmic wheel of life; a wheel that teaches and helps us to empty our minds of

unwanted thoughts, desires and doubts. We are able to reach a clear state of mind, where we may rejuvenate ourselves. The wheel if never-ending, representing how our souls go through many lives of learning in order to achieve wisdom. The concept of mandalas is not always round however; the artist creates harmony using different shapes and yet is loyal to the idea a balanced negative/positive. The yin ansering to the yang; the question greeted with its answer. For instance, in the work The absence of desire: Creation (pg. 21) Suh has his centre in gold leaf: it is the creation of the universe. He envisions the “big bang” as a magical start, where stars burst into the nothingness, to create the “some-thingness” of our world. Because we are like stars, and our prayers are in essence the search of our own beginnings of life itself. The artist says a prayer of thanks while creating these “prayer works”, believing that the borrowed prayers of others will bless the home or person once the work finds its final resting place.

Spiritual Grains Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 150 x 182cm / 59”x72” inches 2010

Absence of worldly desire: Infinity Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 140 x 140cm / 55” x 55” 2012

Absence of worldly desire XVI Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 130 x 130cm / 51.5” x 51.2” 2014

Absence of worldly Desire: Creation Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 120 x 73cm / 55” x 55” 2012 Left Absence of worldly Desire: Wisdom Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 180 x 180cm 2010

The Sound of Faith: The flow Series.

rayer is how we celebrate faith, a dialogue between ourselves and the heavens. Suh’s series of works Traces of Sound, and The Imagination of Melody rests on the belief that faith is not only a sence of harmony but possosses a “holy tone”. A sound that is pure; a clear note that guides us through the fog of doubt. By placing the paper in a overlapping formation, the prayers resembling a rythmic flowing; a visualisation of the harmony that is our prayers heard the cosmos. Hence this dialogue;

Traces of Sound. Celebration Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 150 X182cm / 59”x72” inches 2013

this questioning and answering is shown in the patterns of Suh’s large works, which resemble cornfields flowing in the wind. Simulataenously the burst of colour imitates fire works, bursting up into the heavens. Suh’s helps us to visualise how faith itself is a celebration; the joy to be at one with ourselves.

Festival VIII Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 73 x 60 cm 2011

Festival X Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 100 x 50cm 2013

Absence of Worldy Desire: Celebration Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 100 X50 cm 2013

Traces of Sound in Spiritual Grains Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 150 X182cm / 59”x72” inches 2013

Evidence of Sound V Hanji paper on wooden frame 290 x 218cm 2013

Evidence of sound, IV Hanji paper on wooden frame 290 x 218cm 2013

The element series. Air, earth, fire and water.

n his Element Series, Suh creates four works

above. With the beat of their wings, we may hear

representing elements found in Asian belief

Buddha’s words. But only for those who listen.” The

systems. Wind; representing Air; Fire; Earth and

same symbolism is found also in Hinduism, as well

Water.

as in Christianity, with the white dove symbolising innocence, gentleness and peace.

Suh uses not only prayers found in temples, but discarded caligraphy by other Korean artists. Suh re-uses or recyles these discarded artworks with the message that all art has a “value”. The work Traces

of Sound: Earth is an example how calrigraphy has been placed in a fashion to create a large, monumental work that resonates strength, stablity and longevity. “A mountain of faith” is how Suh regards this work, “that has a tone of its own”. Suh’s Whispers from Above (page 32)represents the element air (or in Korean, the element is understood as “wind”). The wing we see in the centre is a reference to the wings of hope. Many Buddhists believe that birds “hear the whispers from

Traces of Sound IV: Earth Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 182 x 150cm 2012

Whispers from Above Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 182 x 150 cm 2010

Traces of Sound II: Water Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 182 x 150 cm 2010

Circularive Grains V: Fire. Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 182 x 150 cm 2011

Finding the hidden Path. The Prayer Roll series.

n his series entitled A forsest writing, An Old Memory and Blessings from Above Suh used rolls that are complete and not sliced.

“When hopelessness and despair seem to surround us, we hope to find a clear path in life, to move forward”, says Suh. “We all pray to find our goals in life, and often we don’t see that amidst the chaos that surrounds us, a path is already laid out. But with faith – whether in a higher being or within ourselves – we hear our inner voice, as if an old memory emerges that ultimately guides us to find our own personal life’s path”. Suh gives us a visual image of how this diaglue with ourselves may look like; our journey of understanding a higher order through prayer. And if we listen, we are heard and are answered by the blessings from above. A forest Writing III Korean Paper rolled on wooden frame 93 x 93 0cm 2012

The Old Memory II Korean Hanji paper rolled on wooden frame 130 x 80cm / 51.5” x 31.5” 2014

Spiritual balance in his garden Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 150 x150cm / 59â&#x20AC;? x 59â&#x20AC;? inches 2013

Blessings from Above Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 182 x 150cm / 62” x 59” inches 2012

The Korean Roof series.

ooking back on childhood memories, Suh uses in this series of works the symbol of the roof as a reminder and homage to the family.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we pray, we hope to be blessed. It is a natural need or wish to feel safe and protected,â&#x20AC;? says Suh. The roof represents the home ; hence a place where we feel safe and loved. Here the patterns of paper are like reeds of straw, or a thatched roof; a construct that is found in rural areas in Asia. In some works, Suh places the paper in two directions, such as the example Korean House Roof (oppostice). These represent our prayers and the blessings. When we pray we often look up towards the heavens - a subcounsion body position we use. The response we hope for is from the heavens: Suh shows us how blessings are like rain.

Korean House Roof Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 140 x 140 cm / 55” x 55” inches 2013

Korean House Roof: The melody of prayer Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 190 x 90 cm 2012

Right The lines of Whisper Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 90 x 90 cm 2011

Right Korean House Roof X Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 50 x 50 cm 2012

The lines of whisper II Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 120 x 73 cm 2012

Korea House Roof IX Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 100 x 50 cm 2012

The lines of whisper III Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 90 x 90 cm 2012

Korea House Roof XI Hanji Paper on Wooden Frame 100 x 50 cm 2012

Biography Education BFA, Department of Painting, College of Fine Arts, Chosun University MFA, Graduate School of Arts, Kyonggi University

Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

2014 JanKossen Contemporary, Basel Zürich Switzerland 2013 Linarte Istanbul, Turkey 2012 JanKossen Contemporary, Basel Switzerland NAGOYA International Design Gallery, JAPAN 2011 The 10th Solo Exhibition, Seoul J Gallery, Korea The 9th Solo Exhibition, Paper museum, Korea O's Gallery Solo Exhibition, JeonJu O's Gallery, Korea 2010 The 9th Solo Exhibition InSa Art Center, Seoul 2009 The 7th Solo Exhibition, La Mer Gallery, Seoul The 8th Solo Exhibition, KEPCO Plaza Art Museum 2007 The 5th Solo Exhibition, Small-scale Works, Bokchon Gallery, Yeosu The 6th Drawing Solo Exhibition, Small-scale Works, Bokchon Gallery, Yeosu 2006 The 4th Solo Exhibition, Gallery Montmartre, Busan 2003 The 3rd Solo Exhibition, Jinnam Culture and Arts Center, Yeosu 2000 The 2nd Solo Exhibition, KEPCO Plaza Gallery, Seoul 1999 The 1st Solo Exhibition, Inje Art Museum, Gwangju

2014 International Contemporary Art Gwangju Biennale Korea 2013 Venice Biennale, Palazzo Bembo “Personal Structures” Italy 2011 La Mer Gallery, Seoul 2010 East meets west, USA 2010 Korea Modern Artist Exhibition/ Gallery Dimaca (Venezuela) 2009 Gyeonggi Folk Artist Invitation Exhibition Seong nam Arts Festival Seoul Art Gong pyeong Gallery Invitation Exhibition The Nature of Korea Spring. Summer. Fall. Winter Exhibition International Contemporary Art Gwangju Biennale 2008 Goyang Fine Arts Association Exhibition, Aramnuri, Art Museum, Korea 2007 Yeonhong Art Museum 1st Anniversary Exhibition, Korea 2006 Yeosu International Art Fair, Jinnam Culture and Arts Center, Yeosu Open Poems and Pictures, Sejong Center Art Museum, Seoul 2005 Invitational Exhibition in Pakistan 2004 Sanghyung Artist Group Exhibition, Sejong Center Art Museum, Seoul

Impressum Concept, Editing and realisation Jasmin Kossenjans DESIGN ContempoArtnews Ltd Photography Suh Jeong Min JanKossen Contemporary Ltd Text Michael Anderson, USA Peter Hank, Germany Jasmin Kossenjans, Switzerland SPONSORED BY JanKossen Contemporary Ltd PRINT RUN 1200

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