do ho suh recreates a corridor of his seoul home at lehmann maupin london

large and small-scale architectural fabric works, thread drawings, watercolors, and a bronze sculpture by renowned korean artist do ho suh infill lehmann maupin’s newly opened london space. known for his room-sized installations that recreate spaces in which he has lived, suh’s practice confronts questions of home, memory, marginality and the correlation between psychic and physical space.

hub-1, entrance, 296-8, sungbook-dong, sungboo-ku, seoul, korea, 2018
polyester fabric and stainless steel
93.11 x 75.59 x 94.09 inches
236.5 x 192 x 239 cm
© do ho suh. courtesy the artist and lehmann maupin, new york, hong kong, seoul, and london

marking twenty years since do ho suh’s first exhibition with lehmann maupin in the united states, this new solo show welcomes visitors with hub-1, entrance, 296-8, sungbook-dong, sungboo-ku, seoul, korea (2018). this immersive installation, part of the artist’s hub series, is a one-to-one scale replica of a corridor area from his childhood home in seoul which explores those in-between spaces we inhabit before entering rooms, blurring the relationship between exterior and interior, between public and private.

hub-1, entrance, 296-8, sungbook-dong, sungboo-ku, seoul, korea, 2018
polyester fabric and stainless steel
93.11 x 75.59 x 94.09 inches
236.5 x 192 x 239 cm
© do ho suh. courtesy the artist and lehmann maupin, new york, hong kong, seoul, and london

‘the artist’s interest in transitional spaces can be read, in part, as a response to the porous quality of traditional korean architecture, in which rooms are reconfigured for different purposes throughout the day and the natural environment beyond the brick and rice paper walls is keenly felt,’ comments the official gallery release. ‘playing with notions of site specificity, suh has described the hubs, which are easily transportable despite their scale, as ‘survival mechanisms’ that allow him to carry ideas of home with him. the hub, its translucence a nod to the malleability of memory, is activated when the viewer temporarily inhabits the work.’

hub-1, entrance, 296-8, sungbook-dong, sungboo-ku, seoul, korea, 2018
polyester fabric and stainless steel
93.11 x 75.59 x 94.09 inches
236.5 x 192 x 239 cm
© do ho suh. courtesy the artist and lehmann maupin, new york, hong kong, seoul, and london

a set of specimen works are also on view, where fabric versions of household objects found in different countries with subtle variations have been exquisitely sewn. this particular iteration sees lighting fixtures from suh’s new york studio and its adjacent corridors, as well as his former homes in seoul, berlin and providence. from light fixtures and fuse boxes to intercoms, these works exude the feeling and memory of a place, rendering objects that talk about our quotidianity.

hub-1, entrance, 296-8, sungbook-dong, sungboo-ku, seoul, korea, 2018
polyester fabric and stainless steel
93.11 x 75.59 x 94.09 inches
236.5 x 192 x 239 cm
© do ho suh. courtesy the artist and lehmann maupin, new york, hong kong, seoul, and london

last, suh’s interest in how we create and feed our sense of selves and security is showcased in karma (2015), a three-columned piece focusing on human connectivity through a representation of the self in relation to others. ‘referencing the buddhist concept of karma, these ideas are expanded upon in a pair of thread drawings, in which myriad colored skeins of fiber are manipulated on sheets of paper pulp to create hugely detailed images in the thread. the results of this pioneering, labor-intensive technique is complimented by the spontaneous poignancy of a number of recent watercolors, also on display.’

karma (4 columns), 2015
24k gold plating on stainless steel on black granite
31.32 x 34.56 x 34.56 inches
79.6 x 87.8 x 87.8 cm
© do ho suh. courtesy the artist and lehmann maupin, new york, hong kong, seoul, and london

exhibition info:

name: do ho suh

location: lehmann maupin london

dates: december 3, 2020–february 20, 2021