Artwork Page for Person

Details / Information for Person

Person

early 2000s

Suh Se Ok 서세옥

(Korean, 1929–2020)
Culture
Korea
Medium
Ink on mulberry paper
Measurements
Paper: 130.5 x 139 cm (51 3/8 x 54 3/4 in.); Framed: 146.3 x 155.5 x 6 cm (57 5/8 x 61 1/4 x 2 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 2021.102
Copyright
© the Estate of Suh Se Ok. Courtesy Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, and London
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
236 Korean
Print
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Did You Know?

The artist's son, Do Ho Suh (서도호, b. 1962), is also an artist, who reinterprets Korea’s traditional house or hanok, exploring the concept of home and space.

Description

Starting in the 1960s, Suh Se Ok focused on dismantling the boundary between the abstract and the figurative, and calligraphy and drawing, as a way to reimagine the Korean ink-painting tradition, which often stresses figurative realism. To visualize the strong gestural movement delivered by a massive amount of ink, the artist dashed a large brush over a sheet of thick and fibrous Korean mulberry paper. Here, he transformed the ink into a colossal abstract symbol, which evokes two classical Chinese characters: big (大) and person (人). Perhaps, the artist wanted to remind the viewer of monumental historical events achieved by everyday heroes.
Ink drawing created by thick swaths of ink conveying a flat shape reminiscent of a person, arms and legs extended in a star to the edges of the page. At the center of where a rounded torso would be is a roughly circular hole. The ink bleeds, creating hazy edges around the figure.

Person

early 2000s

Suh Se Ok

(Korean, 1929–2020)
Korea

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