Suh Se-Ok

A few strokes and it is a person. Suh Se-Ok reduced the body to its minimum in ink and brush alone, then repeated that figure across the whole surface. In the People series each figure comes close to being a character. Gathered and tangled as if dancing they become a crowd; pull back and they return to strokes. Calligraphic movement carried into figuration, without ever becoming writing. He is counted among the first generation to bring classical ink painting into modern abstraction, and taught for decades at Seoul National University. He was known by the art name Sanjeong. MMCA and Leeum hold his work. He died in 2020.