PARK SUK WON

re- and de- is a term that represents the idea of neutrality—which profoundly resonates with Park Suk Won’s practice. Throughout the ‘Accumulation’ series from the 1980s, employing the method of ‘abstract-cutting’ and ‘accumulation,’ he has prominently worked with nature-based materials such as stones and wood. In pursuit of an unorthodox approach to his work, Park Suk Won has kept his distance from handed-down techniques. His methodology built a new flow of Korean abstract sculpture. In the absence of any representational image, he immerses himself in a simplified and abstract form of a sculpture, leading to the question of the existence of men.

The core concepts of ‘accumulation’ and ‘repetition’ also expand in Park Suk Won’s two-dimensional works. Embracing the tendency of natural resources or materials, he aggregates the Korean traditional paper, Hanji, vertically and horizontally on a canvas. Through the practice of repetition and re-assembly, he once again underlines the value of the pure properties of materials while expanding his philosophy to two-dimensional paintings.

Though the repetition of simplistic forms resonates with the Minimalism of the West, Park Suk Won distinguishes himself by using nature-based materials, establishing the philosophy of Korean Minimalism. The ‘Accumulation’ series is an examination of the potentiality of an oeuvre, hence seeking the harmony between men and nature.