Sangwoo Yoo (b. 1994) has been engaged in exploring objects embedded with temporality, with a particular interest in the senses lost in contemporary life. He highlights the essential value of natural objects that are becoming marginalized and diminished, seeking the possibility of restoring sensorial awareness through experiences that traverse the material and immaterial.

In his 2021 solo exhibition 《Hidden, Covered, and Distorted》 at Gallery DOS, Sangwoo Yoo presented sculptural experiments aimed at reactivating vision and perception—senses that have grown desensitized through overfamiliarity.
 
The exhibition stemmed from the artist’s inquiry into “an awareness of the reality that lies beneath the surface of the truthful world.” Misunderstandings and frictions arising in everyday relationships, along with the inner emptiness and futility he experienced during the exponentially escalating pandemic, expanded his inquiry into questions concerning the authenticity of the society surrounding the individual.

He began to investigate the unseen entities that lie beneath the surface of the society he inhabits. In Fragment of Green (2021), a work reminiscent of a laboratory, the artist disassembles the external form of an object and leaves only its minimal components, presenting an analytical approach to its underlying structure. In the ‘Membrane’ series, he adopts a more direct method that encourages viewers to perceive the reality beneath the surface of objects, prompting an active mode of engagement.
 
In addition, the ‘A Haewooso for the Wounded (상처 입은 어느 이의 해우소)’ series offers a healing space that completely escapes the modern sense of time—a subject of longing for Yoo—evoking a primitive and dreamlike atmosphere.

Through these various sculptural experiments, in the exhibition 《Hidden, Covered, and Distorted》, Sangwoo Yoo aimed to use what is visible to reveal what is hidden.
 
Through the exhibition, he posed the question, “How does the individual in the reality of life perceive and respond to the entities concealed beneath the surface?” At the same time, he sought to reactivate the desensitized faculties of vision and perception through the experience of seeing and sensing, guiding viewers on a journey to awaken their latent senses and discover their own answers.

Additionally, works composed of leaves, tape, and similar materials remind viewers that there are multiple perspectives and interpretations of essence. This essence is not a fixed truth but rather guides the audience to approach the true nature of things by uncovering contradictions in what they have long taken for granted.

Subsequently, Sangwoo Yoo extended his sculptural experiments beyond the confines of the gallery into outdoor natural settings. During this process, he continuously explored ways for the materials used in his work to participate in ecological cycles, focusing on embracing ephemerality and leaving behind a minimal environmental footprint.

For instance, in the ‘Earth Casting’ (2023) series, Yoo cast the actual soil of a park using biodegradable foam, earth, and wood, then created transportable forms to be installed so that they could blend seamlessly into the natural environment. Meanwhile, his sound installation Sotdae (2023) was inspired by the traditional Korean ritual object of the same name, featuring speakers attached to a wooden structure to play music from Kyiv in real time.

In addition, Sangwoo Yoo has undertaken ‘Portrait of Loss’ (2023–), a project in which discarded Christmas trees, flowers, and plants collected from parks are transformed into various sensory forms.
 
For example, in Portrait of Loss (candle) #1 (2023), Yoo extracted chlorophyll from a discarded Christmas tree to create a candle. As the candle burns, a subtle fragrance is released, while the body of the candle gradually diminishes. Through this slowly vanishing form, Yoo records the “portrait of loss” of the discarded tree in a new sensory language.

Meanwhile, in Portrait of Loss (incense) (2023), Yoo transformed a discarded tree into incense, further expressing the sense of loss through scent. The incense was burned in a forest in Colorado, the original location of the Christmas tree, allowing it to gradually turn to ash and return to nature.

Furthermore, Yoo processed discarded Christmas trees into dust and used it to cover floors in public spaces, such as subway exits, as well as exhibition venues. The tree dust, installed in unstable sculptural forms on the gallery floor, emitted a subtle natural fragrance. Over time, the color gradually desaturated, shifting from green to yellow, visually revealing the passage of time.

The dust installed on the floor of a busy subway exit gradually moves and disperses as it comes into contact with people’s footsteps. In this way, it spreads to the paths of countless passersby and, like scattered seeds, returns to nature, acting as a catalyst for the emergence of new life.

Additionally, Yoo collected discarded plants and flowers from public plaza and transformed them into paper. Utilizing the natural property of color change under light, he either engraved images onto this special paper or folded it into paper boats to float on rivers.

The paper boat project was carried out together with participants from diverse backgrounds. Yoo invited them to fold the handmade plant-based paper into boats, each carrying their own personal wishes, and then set them afloat on the river. Over time, the paper boats, made from plant materials, gradually dissolved in the water, returning once again to nature.

Sangwoo Yoo’s ‘Portrait of Loss’ series was first introduced in Korea through his 2025 solo exhibition 《Where Memory Becomes the Earth》 at the Kumho Museum of Art. In the exhibition, the artist collected plants discarded in Chicago’s urban areas and public gardens, reprocessed them, and presented installations that captured traces of time.
 
During the exhibition, the works gradually faded due to exposure to the external environment, and after the exhibition ended, they returned to their natural state, acting as a catalyst for new life.

Regarding these works, art critic Juri Cho noted that Yoo’s practice does not merely gather fragments of loss for display, but “mixes materials extracted from everyday objects and raw materials and transforms them into new states,” thereby expressing the artist’s intention to “capture connections that have been severed and regenerate them.”
 
In this way, Yoo collects fragments that have been disconnected, discarded, or lost, and through art, “reconnects” them so they can return to their original flow. At the same time, this process and its outcomes serve to restore senses that have been dulled in the fast-paced and chaotic contemporary society.
 
In other words, through his exploration of sustainable materials, Yoo proposes new ways of experiencing art and continues his artistic practice within the framework of ecological cycles.

 ”I create art with the intention of reawakening the dulled senses of contemporary subjects.”    (Sangwoo Yoo, Artist’s Note) 

Sangwoo Yoo graduated from the Department of Environmental Sculpture at the University of Seoul and earned his MFA in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His solo exhibitions include 《Where Memory Becomes the Earth》 (Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul, 2025), 《Ephemeral echoes》 (Comfort Station Gallery, Chicago, USA, 2024), 《From dust to Senses》 (SITE Gallery, Chicago, USA, 2024), and 《Hidden, Covered, and Distorted》 (Gallery DOS, Seoul, 2021).
 
He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including 《Imprints of Time》 (Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, USA, 2025), 《GROUND FLOOR》 (Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, USA, 2024–2025), 《Visions of Nature》 (Site:Brooklyn Gallery, New York, USA, 2024), 《Space for Empathy》 (OH Art Foundation Gallery, Chicago, USA, 2023), and 《The 6th Korea Hoguk Art Exhibition》 (United Nations Peace Memorial Hall, Busan, 2016).
 
Yoo was selected as one of the “22nd Kumho Young Artists” at the Kumho Museum of Art and has been awarded fellowships and residencies from institutions including the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, The Watermill Center, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and Loghaven Artist Residency.

References

• 유상우, Sangwoo Yoo (Artist Website)
• 유상우, 인스타그램 (Sangwoo Yoo, Instagram)
• 갤러리도스, [카탈로그] 숨겨진 것, 씌워진 것, 굴절된 것 (Gallery DOS, [Catalogue] Hidden, Covered, and Distorted)
• 금호미술관, [전시 개요] 기억이 대지가 되는 곳에서 (Kumho Museum of Art, [Exhibition Overview] Where Memory Becomes the Earth)
• 시카고 예술대학교, 유상우 (School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Sangwoo Yoo)
• 금호미술관, 조주리 : 광대한 습작법 - 샛바람에 실려가기, 잔물결에 젖어들기, 바윗돌에 부서지기