ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Suki Seokyeong Kang's Multidisciplinary Practice Explores Bodily Narratives Through Sculpture and Performance

artist · 2026-04-20

Suki Seokyeong Kang engages in various artistic forms, including painting, sculpture, installation, and performance. Her work Grandmother Tower (2011–13) symbolizes her grandmother's deterioration, crafted from industrial dish carriers enveloped in thread or leather. Subsequent iterations, Grandmother Tower–tow #18-01 and #18-02 (2018), incorporate wheeled walking frames that are activated by performers. Kang pursued traditional Korean painting at Ewha Woman's University in Seoul and completed her MA in painting at London's Royal College of Art in 2012. Her installations, such as Land Sand Strand (2016–18) and Black Mat Oriole (2017), merge sculpture, video, and choreography. During the 2018 Liverpool Biennial, dancers showcased movements from the Chuangemu dance on a hwamunseok mat. Her latest works are featured at the Venice Biennale, with insights from curator Sungwon Kim.

Key facts

  • Suki Seokyeong Kang's work spans painting, sculpture, installation, and performance
  • Grandmother Tower (2011–13) was created during her grandmother's final illness
  • The sculpture's height and posture mimic her grandmother's diminishing physical capacity
  • Modular units are constructed from industrial dish carriers wrapped in thread or leather
  • No unit exceeds average human body weight
  • Kang studied traditional Korean painting at Ewha Woman's University in Seoul
  • She earned an MA in painting from London's Royal College of Art in 2012
  • Land Sand Strand (2016–18) was shown at the 2018 Liverpool Biennial
  • Performers incorporate movements from the Chuangemu (Spring Oriole Dance)
  • Choreography follows fifteenth-century jeongganbo notation
  • Current work appears at the Venice Biennale's Arsenale and Central Pavilion
  • Kang is a professor of Korean painting at Ewha Woman's University
  • Curator Sungwon Kim has written about her genre-defying practice
  • The Circled Stairs series (2011–) uses stacked walking frames
  • Black Mat Oriole (2017) is a multimedia installation
  • Her work invites viewer interpretation rather than providing explicit narrative

Entities

Artists

  • Suki Seokyeong Kang
  • Sungwon Kim

Institutions

  • Ewha Woman's University
  • Royal College of Art
  • Liverpool Biennial
  • Venice Biennale
  • ArtReview Asia
  • Joseon Dynasty

Locations

  • Seoul
  • South Korea
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Liverpool
  • Venice
  • Italy

Sources