Renowned Korean Ink painter Suh Se-ok is holding an exhibition at ‘Maison Hermes’ in Tokyo. Arranged by the world leading fashion house ‘Hermes Japan’, this exhibition particularly draws attention because of the cooperation between the artist and his son, renowned contemporary artist, Suh Do-ho.
After the Chuseok holiday, on the 27th of the past month, a crowd gathered to ‘Maison Hermes’, a landmark of Ginza, Tokyo. They congregated to see Suh Se-ok’s ‘People’ exhibition(til January 6) opening in the eight floor, ‘le Forum’. It is a great honor for an artist to be invited by the world fashion mogul Hermes; the invitation itself highlights a moment in the painter’s evaluation. And the moment has come to the representative Korean ink painter Suh Se-ok(78).
’le Forum’, the exhibition space for ‘Maison Hermes’ had planned the theme of the year 2007 ‘dance’, and Suh is holding the last exhibition. The artist who worked with ink all his life, has unfolded his projection of dancing people in Tokyo. Along with his newest work ‘People’ painted over beautiful silver silk, Suh has presented twelve of his works from 1978 to 2002. Also on display are the two video documentaries examining the process of Suh’s newest work and the everyday life of the artist.
The Great Installation Art, ‘People’
The highlight of the exhibition is the installation art, ‘People’, a four-meter-wide, fifty-meter-long painting on semi-transparent silver silk cloth, spread out from the start to end of the exhibition hall, in the form of a great parabola. Famous for his abstract ink paintings of ‘people’ in script-like form, Suh Se-ok has long been interested in the three dimensional display of his flat paintings. So when ‘Maison Hermes’ suggested a cooperative exhibition with his son, artist Suh Do-ho, Suh was able to venture into his first attempt. Suh Do-ho had already held an exhibition, ‘Reflections’ in ‘Maison Hermes’ early 2005. In September of the same year, National Museum of Contemporary Art of Korea designated Suh Se-ok as the ‘artist of the year’, and held a major retrospective exhibition. A personnel from ‘Maison Hermes’ viewed this exhibition by chance, and suggested the father-son cooperative exhibition.
At first, the plan was to present the works of both father and son together side be side. However, as the exhibition plan progressed, it was agreed that the son, with his contemporary sense, would plan and install his father’s traditional works. ‘Maison Hermes’ claims that the artistic understanding between Suh Do-ho and Suh Se-ok, reflected the spirit of ‘Hermes’ which began as a traditional equestrian manufacturer and grew into a world famous fashion industry transcending generations.
The Use of Uneasy Space
‘Maison Hermes’ is a landmark designed by the renowned Italian architect, Renzo Piano. The exhibition hall, ‘le Forum’, is located on the top floor, and does not provide an easy space for traditional art display. Situated in the narrow strip of land in the commercial Ginza district, the building houses a long corridor on one side, and the two stories are cleared into one large open space with a high ceiling. In addition, the exterior wall is made of glass blocks, letting light overflow into the interior space. With his experience in the difficult use of space from the 2005 exhibition, Suh Do-ho gives the following explanation for the exhibition concept; “Not much could be expected from works hung on the wall or standing on the floor. So it was concluded that the active use of space, vertically and horizontally, would essentially be dynamic. The outcome of this idea was the great scroll-like painting flowing through space. The choice of a transparent cloth was to present the flow of time with the changes of sunlight. Of course there was hesitation in the attempt which was quite different from the usual work my father was used to, but it was felt that the process was more important than the result. Thus the documentary video was produced to show the audience the entire exhibition preparation.”
In Search of Life
Suh Se-ok has frequently mentions that, “a variety of people appear on my paintings but what I ultimately want to describe is the everyday form of life transcending people”. Once entering the exhibition hall, one can sense that the artist’s wish has been realized through the exhibition space. That is why the cooperation between the father and the son is particularly noteworthy. The people on the cloth appear different according to the constant change of light. ‘The people’ in the painting and ‘the people’ viewing the work become one, creating a remarkable interaction. Thus the exhibition provides a great chance to better understand the artistic world of Suh Se-ok. Renowned Japanese Fiber artist Reiko Sudo visited the exhibition and commented that “the work illustrates the versatility of fabric, flexible yet powerful. The people in the painting appear to come out and breathe among the spectators as if they were alive.”
The Culmination of the Artist’s Eighty Years
Suh Se-ok and Suh Do-ho, father and son, their view of the exhibition is answered by the son; “when the project was first projected, it was the silent wish to bring out the culmination of Suh Se-ok’s eighty-year artistic practice. Once accomplished, the exhibition actually became a new beginning for Suh Se-ok. The opening of a new creative world, the realization of it, is the actual reward for us.”
After the Chuseok holiday, on the 27th of the past month, a crowd gathered to ‘Maison Hermes’, a landmark of Ginza, Tokyo. They congregated to see Suh Se-ok’s ‘People’ exhibition(til January 6) opening in the eight floor, ‘le Forum’. It is a great honor for an artist to be invited by the world fashion mogul Hermes; the invitation itself highlights a moment in the painter’s evaluation. And the moment has come to the representative Korean ink painter Suh Se-ok(78).
’le Forum’, the exhibition space for ‘Maison Hermes’ had planned the theme of the year 2007 ‘dance’, and Suh is holding the last exhibition. The artist who worked with ink all his life, has unfolded his projection of dancing people in Tokyo. Along with his newest work ‘People’ painted over beautiful silver silk, Suh has presented twelve of his works from 1978 to 2002. Also on display are the two video documentaries examining the process of Suh’s newest work and the everyday life of the artist.
The Great Installation Art, ‘People’
The highlight of the exhibition is the installation art, ‘People’, a four-meter-wide, fifty-meter-long painting on semi-transparent silver silk cloth, spread out from the start to end of the exhibition hall, in the form of a great parabola. Famous for his abstract ink paintings of ‘people’ in script-like form, Suh Se-ok has long been interested in the three dimensional display of his flat paintings. So when ‘Maison Hermes’ suggested a cooperative exhibition with his son, artist Suh Do-ho, Suh was able to venture into his first attempt. Suh Do-ho had already held an exhibition, ‘Reflections’ in ‘Maison Hermes’ early 2005. In September of the same year, National Museum of Contemporary Art of Korea designated Suh Se-ok as the ‘artist of the year’, and held a major retrospective exhibition. A personnel from ‘Maison Hermes’ viewed this exhibition by chance, and suggested the father-son cooperative exhibition.
At first, the plan was to present the works of both father and son together side be side. However, as the exhibition plan progressed, it was agreed that the son, with his contemporary sense, would plan and install his father’s traditional works. ‘Maison Hermes’ claims that the artistic understanding between Suh Do-ho and Suh Se-ok, reflected the spirit of ‘Hermes’ which began as a traditional equestrian manufacturer and grew into a world famous fashion industry transcending generations.
The Use of Uneasy Space
‘Maison Hermes’ is a landmark designed by the renowned Italian architect, Renzo Piano. The exhibition hall, ‘le Forum’, is located on the top floor, and does not provide an easy space for traditional art display. Situated in the narrow strip of land in the commercial Ginza district, the building houses a long corridor on one side, and the two stories are cleared into one large open space with a high ceiling. In addition, the exterior wall is made of glass blocks, letting light overflow into the interior space. With his experience in the difficult use of space from the 2005 exhibition, Suh Do-ho gives the following explanation for the exhibition concept; “Not much could be expected from works hung on the wall or standing on the floor. So it was concluded that the active use of space, vertically and horizontally, would essentially be dynamic. The outcome of this idea was the great scroll-like painting flowing through space. The choice of a transparent cloth was to present the flow of time with the changes of sunlight. Of course there was hesitation in the attempt which was quite different from the usual work my father was used to, but it was felt that the process was more important than the result. Thus the documentary video was produced to show the audience the entire exhibition preparation.”
In Search of Life
Suh Se-ok has frequently mentions that, “a variety of people appear on my paintings but what I ultimately want to describe is the everyday form of life transcending people”. Once entering the exhibition hall, one can sense that the artist’s wish has been realized through the exhibition space. That is why the cooperation between the father and the son is particularly noteworthy. The people on the cloth appear different according to the constant change of light. ‘The people’ in the painting and ‘the people’ viewing the work become one, creating a remarkable interaction. Thus the exhibition provides a great chance to better understand the artistic world of Suh Se-ok. Renowned Japanese Fiber artist Reiko Sudo visited the exhibition and commented that “the work illustrates the versatility of fabric, flexible yet powerful. The people in the painting appear to come out and breathe among the spectators as if they were alive.”
The Culmination of the Artist’s Eighty Years
Suh Se-ok and Suh Do-ho, father and son, their view of the exhibition is answered by the son; “when the project was first projected, it was the silent wish to bring out the culmination of Suh Se-ok’s eighty-year artistic practice. Once accomplished, the exhibition actually became a new beginning for Suh Se-ok. The opening of a new creative world, the realization of it, is the actual reward for us.”
S. Euna Yoo is an Independent Art Networker introducing Korean Art to the International community. Established as ‘SEY ARTNET’, a networking company for the art world, Yoo has many projects introducing Korean Art to the US, Japan and others.
