Ryu In

Early Years

Ryu in was born in 1956 to artistic parents: the pioneering abstract painter Ryu Kyungchae (1920–1995) and the professor and playwright Kang Sunghee (1921–2009). He completed his BFA in sculpture at Hongik University in Seoul in 1981 and gained his BFA in sculpture from the same institution in 1987.

Ryu In: Artworks

Ryu In created a sculptural world that put psychological tension and human suffering in the spotlight: his male bodies stood strong yet their figures were distorted, hands exaggerated or features incomplete. His sculptures went beyond representation of the human form and served as an examination of the vulnerability of existence and the resilience required to navigate life. Alongside his sculptures, Ryu In also presented installations, as well as drawings demonstrating the thought and work that went into his three-dimensional pieces’ execution.

• 1984’s Broken Egg I is a solid example of Ryu In’s distortion of the human form and presentation of our ability to weather difficulties. A muscular male torso carries a large block where its head and arms should be, while its legs appear to melt into the bronze.
• The bronze and iron Resurrection—Calm Down sees a male figure in a pose reminiscent of an archer, featuring one of Ryu In’s familiar exaggerated hands.
• Self Portrait (1980) is an unusually straightforward depiction of a human form, although the expression on the bronze figure suggests melancholy.

Ryu In: Select Awards

• Outstanding Creative Work Award at the First Korea Art Critique Association (1996)
• Outstanding Award at the First Young Artist Invitational (1995)
• Today’s Young Artist Award, Korea Ministry of Culture and Sports and Tourism (1993)
• Special Selection at the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea (1990)
• Special Selection at the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea (1988)
• Special Selection at the Joongang Fine Arts Prize (1987)
• Special Selection at the Mokwoo Art Association Open Exhibition and Award of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (1983–1985)
• Special Selection at the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea (1983)

Ryu In: Exhibitions

Select Solo Exhibitions

• Duality, Arario Gallery, Cheonan (2026)
• Ryu In, GS Caltex Yeulmaru, Yeosu (2022)
• Awakening, Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul (2020)
• The Boundary and the Between, Arario Gallery, Seoul (2016)
• Combustion of the Existence, Arario Museum Tapdong Cinema (2015)
• The 15th Anniversary Memorial Exhibition: Anxiety and Desire, Arario Gallery, Cheonan (2015)
• The 11th Anniversary Memorial Exhibition: Hwangtohyun Seogok, T Art Centre, Beijing (2010)
• The Fifth Anniversary Memorial Exhibition, Moran Gallery, Namyangjoo (2004)
• The Second Anniversary Memorial Exhibition: Promise with Him—Exhibition in Memory of Ryu In, Insa Art Centre, Seoul (2001)
• Ryu In: The Fourth Solo Exhibition , Art Space Seoul, Seoul (1996)
• The Third Solo Exhibition, Korea Cultural Centre, New York City (1994)
• The Second Solo Exhibition, Art Hallm Korea Culture and Arts Foundation, Seoul (1991)
• First Hyangbang Invitational Exhibition, Yoon Gallery, Seoul (1987)

Select Group Exhibitions

• POMA Collection: Steel Sculpture, Pohang Museum of Steel Art, Pohang (2026)
• Midnight Midnight, Museumhead, Seoul (2025)
• Prelude: With a Heart Singing Stars, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul (2025)
• Microscopic World, Expo Art Gallery, Yeosu (2023)
• Moving in Stillness, Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul (2023)
• Sculptural Attitude, Pohang Steel Art Museum Collection, POSCO Gallery, Pohang (2023)
• Kim Bokjin and Korean Modern and Contemporary Sculptors, Cheongju Museum of Art, Cheongju (2022)
• Representation and Recurrence: A Rebirth of Korean Figurative Art, Lotte Gallery, Incheon (2022)
• Human, Seven Questions, Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul (2021)
• POMA Collection, Pohang Museum of Art, Pohang (2019)
• The Artists of Premature Death and Fate, Gana Art Center, Seoul (2001)
• Portrait of Our Times—Father, Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul (1997)
• Front DMZ-Wing 248x4, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul (1993)
• The Figurative Sculpture of Korea: Its Present and Future, Moran Museum of Art, Namyangjoo (1991)
• The Unexpected Exhibition, Total Gallery, Seoul (1990)
• The Figurative Arts of the 80s, Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul (1989)
• _Present_image_, Gallery Hyundai, Seoul (1988)

Further Reading

• Artist biography from Arario Gallery
• Notes from the 2026 exhibition Duality

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