Seock Son
Overview
EDUCATION
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Selected Group Exhibitions & Art Fairs
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
1999
Artist’s Statement
My artistic practice begins with a fundamental question: how can the invisible aspects of human experience—memory, time, perception, and emotion—be given a visible form?
I am particularly interested in the relationship between the human figure and the spaces that surround it. Rather than simply representing the external appearance of a person or place, I seek to reveal the traces of experiences accumulated within them. For me, an image is not a fixed representation but a space where memories, perceptions, and fragments of time continue to overlap.
Surface is therefore an essential element of my work. I build and transform the pictorial surface through layers, textures, relief, and material interventions. The surface simultaneously functions as an image and as a physical presence. It can conceal and reveal, create distance and depth, and evoke the passage of time. Through this process, painting moves beyond a two-dimensional representation and becomes an encounter between image, material, and space.
My work also reflects on the tension between presence and absence. Figures and forms often appear as traces rather than clearly defined identities. They suggest moments that have already passed or experiences that remain in memory. This ambiguity allows the viewer to enter the work through their own perception and personal associations.
Living and working between Korea and France has also shaped my visual language. The dialogue between different cultural environments has encouraged me to observe how perception changes according to place, time, and context. Rather than seeking a single interpretation, I embrace this sense of displacement and openness as an important part of my practice.
Ultimately, I see painting as a way of making the invisible visible. Through material, surface, space, and traces of the human presence, I explore how we remember, perceive, and experience the world around us.
Biography
Son Seok is a Korean contemporary artist whose artistic career has developed between Korea and France since the late 1990s. His practice explores the relationship between human presence, memory, perception, time, and space, with particular attention to the material and physical qualities of the painted surface.
Son Seok studied Fine Arts at Hongik University in Seoul before continuing his studies in France. He pursued graduate studies in Fine Arts and earned master’s degrees in Aesthetics from Université Paris-Sorbonne and in related studies at Université Paris 8. His long-term engagement with the French art scene has played an important role in the development of his artistic language.
Since the late 1990s, Son Seok has presented numerous solo and group exhibitions in Korea, France, and other international venues. His major solo exhibitions include presentations at Gana Beaubourg Gallery in Paris, Escape Artsenal in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Gana Art Center in Seoul, Insa Art Center in Seoul, Galerie Mark Hachem in Paris, and Gunsan Modern History Museum.
He has also participated in major international art fairs and exhibitions, including Art Paris, ARCOmadrid, Art Miami, Art Brussels, Art London, Milan Art Fair, Shanghai Spring Art Fair, and Chicago Art Fair. His works have been presented alongside contemporary artists in museums, galleries, cultural institutions, and international art events in Europe and Asia.
Throughout his career, Son Seok has continued to investigate the boundaries between painting and physical space. By working with layered surfaces, textures, relief, and material interventions, he transforms the traditional pictorial plane into a tactile field in which traces of human experience, memory, and time can emerge.
Based between Korea and France, Son Seok continues to develop a distinctive body of work that connects contemporary painting with questions of perception, presence, and the passage of time.
Works
