Skip to main contentBiographyOf all contemporary trends, conceptual art has been best received in international circles, perhaps because it is less rooted in tradition and unlikely to have a narrative. Korean native Do-Ho Suh (born 1962) embraced three-dimensional conceptual art almost by accident. He was born in Seoul where his father, Se-Ok Suh, is an important modernist painter. Do-Ho Suh studied at Seoul National University, earning an undergraduate as well as a graduate degree in Oriental painting, after which he completed two years of required military service. He moved to the United States in 1993 to pursue his study of art. He studied first at Skowhegan School of Painting in Maine, then at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, where he completed his second Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting in 1994. He lived in New York City for a year before earning another Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Yale University in 1997. His work was already attracting favorable critical notice by this time, and, in 2001, Suh was chosen to represent Korea at the 49th Venice Biennale. Works by Do-Ho Suh are owned by major international museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Tate Modern in London, among others. The artist has studios in New York, London, and Seoul, reflecting a prediction from his past: “Once, my fortune-teller told me that I have five horses: five horses in my fortune, in my life. That means that I travel a lot. I’m destined to leave home and live somewhere else and travel to many places: that’s a story.” [1]
Although most of his formal art education was as a painter, Suh has become an internationally recognized sculptor and installation artist. As an undergraduate in Providence, Suh made a pivotal piece entitled Metal Jacket, 1992, private collection, made of three thousand stainless steel military dog tags over the lining of a United States military jacket. Suh says that “it all started with an assignment for this sculpture class that I accidentally took. I was a painting major at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), and at RISD, you have to take at least one non-major elective studio course. And I wanted to take a glassblowing class, but it was already filled. So, this sculpture course was the only course that was open. And it was called ‘The Figure In Contemporary Art.’ It changed my life because it was just such an important experience, and after that class, I slowly abandoned my painting and then became a sculptor. The assignment was using the form of clothing to address this issue of identity. And that was only one semester after I came here from Korea. That was also right after the L.A. riots, and I think there were some issues related to the Korean-American communities in L.A. during the riots. That was what really allowed me to think about my identity as a Korean in the United States, through that project.” [2]
Suh continues to investigate issues drawn from his life, especially his Korean upbringing, military service, and his peripatetic lifestyle as an international artist. He has recreated out of nylon fabric his New York City apartment, down to the electric outlets. Some sculptures feature plastic figurines, such as toy soldiers, incorporated into monumental pieces. Through his sculptures, he addresses concepts such as the individual within a collective society, globalization, displacement, and private-versus-public space. “I’m interested in space more than anything else,” he said, “the space I create for me and the space imposed on me.” [3]
Notes:
[1] “Interview with Do-Ho Suh: Seoul Home/L. A. Home—Korea and Displacement,” Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century, September 3, 2003. www.art21.org.
[2] “Interview with Do-Ho Suh: ‘Some/One’ and the Korean Military,” Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century, September 3, 2003. www.art21.org.
[3] Hacket, Regina. “Do-Ho Suh makes memory tangible with wallpaper, floating houses and dog tags,” Seattle-Post Intelligencer(August 9, 2003).
Do Ho Suh
born 1962
Although most of his formal art education was as a painter, Suh has become an internationally recognized sculptor and installation artist. As an undergraduate in Providence, Suh made a pivotal piece entitled Metal Jacket, 1992, private collection, made of three thousand stainless steel military dog tags over the lining of a United States military jacket. Suh says that “it all started with an assignment for this sculpture class that I accidentally took. I was a painting major at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), and at RISD, you have to take at least one non-major elective studio course. And I wanted to take a glassblowing class, but it was already filled. So, this sculpture course was the only course that was open. And it was called ‘The Figure In Contemporary Art.’ It changed my life because it was just such an important experience, and after that class, I slowly abandoned my painting and then became a sculptor. The assignment was using the form of clothing to address this issue of identity. And that was only one semester after I came here from Korea. That was also right after the L.A. riots, and I think there were some issues related to the Korean-American communities in L.A. during the riots. That was what really allowed me to think about my identity as a Korean in the United States, through that project.” [2]
Suh continues to investigate issues drawn from his life, especially his Korean upbringing, military service, and his peripatetic lifestyle as an international artist. He has recreated out of nylon fabric his New York City apartment, down to the electric outlets. Some sculptures feature plastic figurines, such as toy soldiers, incorporated into monumental pieces. Through his sculptures, he addresses concepts such as the individual within a collective society, globalization, displacement, and private-versus-public space. “I’m interested in space more than anything else,” he said, “the space I create for me and the space imposed on me.” [3]
Notes:
[1] “Interview with Do-Ho Suh: Seoul Home/L. A. Home—Korea and Displacement,” Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century, September 3, 2003. www.art21.org.
[2] “Interview with Do-Ho Suh: ‘Some/One’ and the Korean Military,” Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century, September 3, 2003. www.art21.org.
[3] Hacket, Regina. “Do-Ho Suh makes memory tangible with wallpaper, floating houses and dog tags,” Seattle-Post Intelligencer(August 9, 2003).
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