Sukwon Park

Park Sukwon (b. 1942) opened new horizons in Korean sculpture breaking away from figurative sculpture with his abstract works. Experimenting with the tendency of Informel that focused on human existence around 1960s, Park embodied the providence of nature by accumulating the pure properties of nature-based materials such as stones, iron, and wood in the 1970s and 1980s. He aimed to create a new relationship and visualise the essence of things rather than view their superficial parts. He achieved this by accepting the physical properties or attributes of the materials, cutting them into units, and then restacking them. Since the early 1990s, Park has been working on the "Accumulation" series combining the human mind with his “accumulation” methodology. Park attempts to avoid the previous rigid structure using literary references to human beings, culture, and history. In addition, he has recently immersed himself in "material painting” by cutting hanji (traditional Korean paper) into geometric shapes and amassing them. Through “segmentation” and “conjugation,” Park represents the physical properties of various materials, and at the same time, he pursues harmony amongst nature as an artist and a man.