Park Seo-Bo Dies at 91
The artist announced a cancer diagnosis in February, declining treatment in order to continue making art.
Park Seo-Bo artist portrait. Courtesy Kukje Gallery. Photo: Kim Youngrim.
Park Seo-Bo, who was a leading figure of Dansaekhwa, a style of abstract painting that emerged in Korea in the late 1960s, has passed away.
'It is with sadness that we learned of the death of the artist Park Seo-Bo', read a statement from Perrotin, who co-represents the artist, on 14 October.
In February, the 91-year-old artist publicly announced via social media that he was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer.
During a March press conference the artist said, 'I've decided to consider the cancer as a friend and live with it.'
'I would not be able to paint if I go through a treatment to cure the disease,' he said, declining treatment for the illness that has now taken his life.
Park Seo-bo has been described as a 'Godfather' of modern Korean art, and has been a vocal supporter of young and emerging talent through his Gizi Foundation.
'His passing will be very deeply felt', stated White Cube in a post on X, also crediting the artist with 'an extraordinary energy and drive' for continuing to work in the studio following his diagnosis. The gallery presented an exhibition of the artist's recent works in West Palm Beach earlier this year.
'We mourn with the Korean art community who has lost a treasured teacher and abiding force in the Korean art world', said Alexandra Munroe, Senior Curator at the Guggenheim Museum, on Instagram.
'His lifelong commitment to his art, his will remain a timeless legacy in Korean art history', said Kukje Gallery founder and chairperson Lee Hyun-Sook.
Park's final legacy he sought to establish while he was alive, an art museum in his name, will be fully realised next year when the tentatively-named Park Seo-Bo Art Museum opens on the southern end of Jeju Island. —[O]
