Suh Yongsun, a major figure in contemporary Korean art, is recognized for his persistent exploration of the world of human life. Every visual form in his work originates from an enduring interest in people—an inquiry that inevitably connects to the “society” that conditions human existence, and unfolds through subjects such as history and myth, self-portraits, and urban figures and landscapes. His paintings, marked by vivid color and expressive brushwork yet governed by a concise and disciplined structure, reveal the life of the individual within history and social systems, especially that of contemporaries in megacities such as Seoul, New York, Berlin, and Melbourne. Suh’s work poses an existential question about what it means to be human in the world he encounters. His works are included in the collections of major institutions, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, as well as numerous museums worldwide.

From the Danjong series and Korean War paintings to reinterpretations of the Mago myth, Suh’s depictions of urban figures—first noted in the Pine Tree series of the 1980s—have continued throughout his career since his debut solo exhibition. The works Enduring, Boat, and Conversation portray urban and social landscapes the artist inhabits and observes. While Suh sometimes renders specific individuals or self-portraits, his main subjects are the ordinary, universal figures encountered in daily life—in city streets, cafés, and subways. Beyond the urban sphere, his diverse projects, including Dokdo, the Cheoram Project, and the Tumen River Project, explore historical sites and human existence, evoking a strong sense of empathy with the conditions of contemporary life. Alongside painting, sculpture, and collage also constitute an essential and continuous part of Suh’s artistic practice.