Solo Exhibitions (Brief)

The artist held her first solo exhibition at the Cigong Gallery(Daegu, Korea) in 1999 and left a strong impression on the art scene as an orthodox painter with her solo exhibition 《The Brain Ocean》 at Project Space SARUBIA(Seoul, Korea) in 2000.

After the opening of Arario Gallery Seoul(2006), the first solo exhibition of a Korean artist was held. Afterward, she opened 《The Advent of Multidimensional Creatures》 (2014, Gallery Skape, Seoul, Korea) and 《The multidimensional creatures and the structure of meaning》(2018, LEE EUGEAN, Seoul, Korea), which introduced the artist’s painting theory along with her works.

The artist’s paintings that understand and reveal the world of form in which human ideas exist as images were recently presented through 《An Omniscient Artist’s Perspective in the World of Form(2021, LEE EUGEAN Gallery, Seoul, Korea).

Group Exhibitions (Brief)

Participated in group exhibitions held at Korean Cultural Center Gallery(Ottawa, Canada), Daegu Arts Center(Daegu, Korea), Seoul Museum of Art(Seoul, Korea), Space K(Daegu, Korea), Seoul Museum of History(Seoul, Korea), Korean Cultural Center UK(London, UK), Dong-gang Museum of Photography(Yeongwol, Korea).

Collections (Selected)

Her works are in collections of various museums and foundations such as National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art(Gwacheon, Korea), Arts Council(Korea, Seoul), Doosan Art Center-Yonkang Foundation(Seoul, Korea), Seonhwa Art and Culture Foundation(Seoul, Korea), Long museum(Shanghai, China).

Originality & Identity

The artist Chung Suejin paints with a deeply unraveled method to refine her works. She is regarded as an orthodox painter in the flow of Korean contemporary art and composes the paintings with various techniques, compositions, shapes and colours. The artist’s works have high densities, but no layers, and, therefore, the images break narratives and create a visual structure.

“In fact, I am fascinated by the combination of colour and shape that each form has. I only work with pure visual images, so the abstract is stronger in my paintings.”

Chung Suejin’s paintings are often described as ‘multi-layered abstract paintings.’ The intention of vivid colour and detailed description reminds of figural expressionist paintings. However, it has an abstract atmosphere that is difficult to describe at the same time.

For her paintings, Chung Suejin delved into her visual language and its uniqueness in order to establish it as a theory. To do so, she studied mathematics, science, and philosophy of both Eastern and Western aesthetics. In her solo exhibition, 《Pyramid Dialectic 》(2011), the artist presented her painting theory and methodology named ‘Budo Theory.’

This theory establishes a system that allows for new intercommunication through visual images. Chung Suejin figures out the numerous perspectives that exist to look into objects, providing order to forms and monsters that appear in this formative system.

The multi-layer in screen composition is connected with the multi-dimensional creatures, which are various iconic images illustrated in the work. In 2006 at her solo exhibition, a monster (the artist also cannot define the features) was shown in her work, but it was a subject that Chung Suejin has been indulged in the things beyond the perception for a long time.

She named it here ‘a world of multi-dimensional creatures,’ and explained the structure of communicating in a concrete and objective way with a visual image system via units. It can be seen for the artist to unfold a new agenda for plentiful critics and appreciation in the end.

Style & Contents

Chung Suejin’s paintings are so distinctive that it is difficult to find similar styles or methods in the Korean contemporary art world. Her paintings are very unique in that they understand the related structure of colours and forms, not focusing on what to draw or how to paint.

She mentioned, “if your perspective to see something is changed, you can perceive much more dimensions” and tried to illustrate multi-dimensional forms on the canvas. The Dépaysement technique is often used in her work due to the artist’s desire to show them.

The organic arrangement, heterogeneous motifs, and the repetitively deconstructed figures are illustrated in visual features basis on the artist’s work. There are no distinct personalities of the characters and there is no story between them.

Her artwork presents a twisted three-dimensional composition and realistic description with basic principles of figurative painting and realistic description. Namely, they express surreal screens with numerous arranged shapes but exclude the content composition. Here is the right time when the author’s advice is valid, “See, don’t read.”

Topography & Continuity

As Frederic Jameson insists, who theorized postmodernism as a unique cultural style of the post-capitalist era, it is impossible for today’s artists to create their new style and art world. Due to the creative and unique works that have been already done, modern art seems like borrowing the subjects or materials from the past or art itself. Chung Suejin is also an artist based on her thinking on the art itself.

Chung Suejin completes her visual theory and presents it with her works. She is a painter who has a deep breadth of philosophical implications regarding visual art and its understanding. Outstood for her capabilities, attitude, and artistry as a painter, she held a solo exhibition in 2006 as the first domestic artist at Arario Gallary, Seoul. Chung Suejin participated in 《Metamorphose, the Korean trajectory 》(2008, Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris) sponsored by Louis Vuitton, as one of the ten artists representatives of Korea.

Since then, she became a representative painter invited to exhibitions introducing contemporary Korean art, especially painting exhibitions. Chung Suejin proves her establishment, promoting her art at Hong Kong Art Fair, LA Art Show, Art Basel, Miami Art Fair, Hong Kong Christie’s Special Exhibition of Korean Artists, and even received favorable comments from international art fairs held in London, Berlin, and New York.