Suh Yongsun_Catalog by Gallery Chang

Apr 9 - May 2, 2026 | Gallery Chang, NewYork

경험이 된다

특히 추상이 지배적인 동시대 미술의 흐름 속에서, 서용선이 오랜 시간 인물화를 고 수해왔다는 점은 더욱 주목할 만하다. 이는 단순한 형식의 선택이 아니라, 인간에 대 한 지속적인 관심과 태도의 표현이다. 이미지가 넘쳐나는 시대 속에서 우리는 수많은 장면을 빠르게 소비하지만, 그 안의 인간을 깊이 바라보는 일에는 점점 익숙하지 않 다 이러한 흐름 속에서 서용선의 작업은 오히려 역행하는 듯 보인다 그는 여전히 사 람을 그리며, 그들의 얼굴과 존재를 집요하게 응시한다 그가 그려온 단종의 얼굴, 대구항쟁 속 인물들의 긴장된 존재, 그리고 도시를 살아가 는 사람들의 일상적인 모습은 모두 하나의 질문으로 수렴된다 우리는 서로를 얼마나 깊이 바라보고 있는가 이 질문은 단순한 감상을 넘어 동시대를 향한 하나의 제안이 기도 하다 끊임없이 교체되는 상황 속에서, 우리는 과연 타인의 존재를 얼마나 진지 하게 마주하고 있는지 돌

SUHYONGSUN

b.1951, Seoul, South Korea

EDUCATION

1982

1979

Master in Fine Arts, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

SuhYongsun, City and People: PIBI Gallery, Seoul

The 1453Coup (Gyeyujeongnan), A Historical Painting by SuhYongsun Guerrilla Exhibition: Discourse Art, Seoul

SuhYongsun, Beyond The No Gun Ri : No Gun Ri Peace Memorial,Yongdong

SuhYongsun, Mogan Avenue 300 : Gallery JJ, Seoul

Portrait of Ourselves: Forests to Cities : Cromwell Place, Gallery 12, London

SuhYongsun, New Works : One and J Gallery, Seoul

Self-Portrait, SuhYongsun :Topohouse, Seoul

SuhYongsun Project, Amtaedo : Oil Tank Culture Park T5, T6, Seoul

SuhYongsun, My Name is Red : Art Sonje Center, Seoul

Amtaedo SuhYongsun Museum Opening : Shian

SuhYongsun L' Umana Commedia : Space 138, Seoul

SuhYongsun A Recollection, Pines : Gallery JJ, Seoul

SuhYongsun’s Mago Story Searching for Goddess Mago in our mind : Herstory House, Seoul

Self-Portrait SuhYongsun : Gallery Hi, Busan

Mago the myth, SuhYongsun : JNO Gallery, Seoul

SuhYongsun In Thinking Garugaye Project : Gallery JJ, Seoul

Manchupsanjung -SuhYongsun Paintings :Yeoju Museum,Yeoju

Paper Painting by SuhYongsun : Allme Artspace, Seoul

Gogurye by SuhYongsun : Gallery Imazoo, Seoul

RESIDENCIES

2018 Torpedo Factory ArtCenter, Alexandria, VA, USA

2016 Art Mora, New Jersey, USA

Masan Art Studio, Changwon, Korea

2015 Haengchon Museum and Foundation for Arts and Culture, Imhado, Henam, Korea

2012 Sydney University, Sydney, Australia

2011 RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

2010 RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

2006 Visiting Professor/Artist Program at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

2004 Exchange Professor, University Sorbonne / Gana Art Gallery, Cité International Program, Paris

2001 Invited Professor / international Artist workshop program, Hamburg, Germany

1995 Vermont Studio Center, Vermont, USA

COLLECTIONS

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary of Art, Korea, Gwacheon, Korea

ArtBank, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary of Art, Korea, Gwacheon, Korea

Seoul City Museum, Seoul

Busan Museum of Modern art, Busan, Korea

Daegu University, Daegu, Korea

Korea University Museum, Seoul

Seoul National University,Seoul

Seoul National University Museum, Seoul

Choogcheong University, Cheongju, Korea

Moran Musuem, Namyangju, korea

OCI Museum, Seoul

National Defense Graduate School Museum, Kyunggido, Korea

Dongseo literature Publishing Co. Seoul

Monash University, Melbourne Austrairia

Wooguanjoon Museum annexed Gallery, Singapore

IwamiYamagucci, Japan

Yangpyung Museum, Kyunggido, Korea

Inchon Artplatform, Inchon, Korea

Posco, Seoul

Educational Foundation, Seoul

TEACHING

2016 - Present

1986 - 2008

AWARDS

Emeritus Professor at Seoul National University

Professor at College of Fine Arts, Seoul National University

2024 The National Academy of Arts of the Republic of Korea Award

2014 Lee Jung Seop Art Award. Chosun Ilbo Art Museum, Seoul

2009 Artist of theYear, Contemporary Art

1984 The 6 JoongAng Special Art Award, JoongAng Ilbo, Seoul th

1982 Dong-A Art Fair, Dong A Art Award, Dong A Ilbo, Seoul

1978 The 1 JoongAng Special Art Award, JoongAng Ilbo, Seoul st

1.ART HISTORIAL POSITION

Suh Yongsun (b. 1951) is among the most significant figurative painters to emerge from South Korea in the postwar period.

He occupies a distinctive position in contemporary painting through his decades-long commitment to figurative painting. At a time when abstraction and conceptual practices dominated much of the contemporary art world, Suh continued to focus on the human figure, developing a body of work centered on portraiture, the city, and the human condition.

Rather than following stylistic trends, Suh has sustained a long-term investigation into how painting can represent human presence and lived experience His work can be understood in relation to postwar figurative painting and expressionist traditions that emphasized the psychological presence of the figure and the materiality of paint

Over several decades, Suh has developed a consistent painterly language and subject matter, positioning his work within a broader global history of figurative painting that evolved alongside abstraction His practice reflects a long-term commitment to painting as a way of observing people, time, and existence

His practice spans portraiture, urban scenes, and self-portraiture, and has been shaped in part by extended periods of time abroad, particularly in the United States His Middletown series, produced during an American residency with Gallery Chang, applied his characteristic intensity to scenes of everyday American life, revealing a gaze that finds depth and meaning in the ordinary as readily as in the historical

2.CHRACTERSTICS OF THE

WORK

Working with oil and acrylic, Suh builds surfaces that feel at once raw and considered. Faces are rendered with particular intensity, neither idealized nor caricatured.

The central focus of Suh Yongsun’s work is the human figure Across portraits, self-portraits, and scenes of everyday life, his paintings are less about specific narratives and more about the presence of individuals and the experience of being human

His paintings are characterized by strong brushwork, simplified spatial structures, and a tension between figure and background The figures often appear both integrated into and isolated from their surroundings, creating a psychological atmosphere rather than a descriptive scene

3.MARKET CONSIDERATION

SuhYongsun represents a significant generation of Korean painters who maintained a strong commitment to painting over several decades In recent years, there has been increasing institutional and market interest in artists with long-term painterly practices, particularly those working with figurative painting, history, and urban themes

His work appeals to collectors interested in figurative painting and Asian contemporary art, and it aligns with the broader international resurgence of figurative painting Artists with consistent subject matter, recognizable painterly language, and long exhibition histories often demonstrate stablized long-term market development, and Suh’s career reflects this trajectory

As international interest in Korean contemporary art continues to grow, SuhYongsun’s work is increasingly positioned within broader discussions of global figurative painting and postwar painting histories.