SUKI SEOKYEONG KANG

She has been internationally celebrated in numerous institutional shows. Using traditional Korean craft techniques and systems—such as the musical notation jeongganbo and hwamunseok mats—as frameworks for her contemporary works, her art often examines how personal and collective identities are negotiated within structured spaces.

Early Life and Education

Born in Seoul in 1977, Kang grew up immersed in the cultural and artistic heritage of Korea. She studied Oriental Painting at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, where she completed both her BFA and MFA, and later became a professor of painting at the same institution. Kang furthered her education with an MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art, London, a dual grounding that informed her unique approach to art making, combining classical technique with contemporary discourse.

Artistic Practice

Kang’s work rigorously explores form, material, and movement, consistently questioning how individuals navigate collective structures. Her practice balanced tradition and innovation, employing painting, sculpture, video, installation, and performance.

Jeong’, ‘Mat’, and ‘Mora’ series of work

In a 2024 exhibition at Tina Kim Gallery in New York, the artist presented works—many of which were specifically created for her major 2023 solo exhibition at Leeum Museum of Art Willow Drum Oriole. The show included works from her ‘Jeong’, ‘Mat’, and ‘Mora’ series, and incorporated the grid, a recurring motif for the artist which acted as a structuring device. It also included woven reed mats (hwamunseok). The works offered poetic meditations on how people define and are defined by the spaces they inhabit.

Mountain Sculptures

Kang’s multidisciplinary approach is evident in her use of found objects, layered colour, and tactile materials such as wood, steel, paper, and silk. Her ‘Mountain’ sculptures—curved steel forms sometimes adorned with thread—recall traditional ink painting and are often human-scaled, emphasising the relationship between body, object, and space.

Grandmother Tower

Her celebrated ‘Grandmother Tower’ series (2011–2013) exemplifies her interest in the precariousness of the individual. Inspired by her grandmother’s declining health, these works often use stacked, drum-like frames wrapped in thread or leather, referencing both familial memory and the fragility of support structures. Some versions incorporated wheeled walking frames and were activated by performers, further exploring the intersection of stability and vulnerability.

Land, Sand, Strand and Black Mat Oriole

Performance was central to Kang’s practice. Installations such as ‘Land, Sand, Strand’ and ‘Black Mat Oriole’ (both 2017) combined sculpture, performance, and video, with dancers navigating spaces defined by Kang’s sculptures and mats. These performances, often rooted in historical Korean dance and musical notation, transformed the exhibition space.

Exhibitions

Suki Seokyeong Kang has been the subject of both solo and group exhibitions at important institutions

Solo Exhibitions

• Mountain–Hour–Face, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (2025)
• Willow Drum Oriole, Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul (2023)
• Square See Triangle, Buk-Seoul Museum of Art (2019–2020)
• Black Mat Oriole, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (2018)
• Mudam Luxembourg (2018)

Group Exhibitions

• Venice Biennale (2019 and 2024)
• Shanghai Biennale (2018).
• Gwangju Biennale (2018)
• Liverpool Biennial (2018)

Awards and Critical Reception

In 2018 Kang was awarded the Baloise Art Prize. Her practice has been covered in leading art publications, including ArtReview, Ocula, and Artnet News, which have highlighted her innovative approach to tradition and her profound impact on Korean and international contemporary art.

Suki Seokyeong Kang FAQs

Ocula | 2025