Soo Nam BAIG Special exhibition

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As part of the Jirisan Biennale 2024, the special exhibition Soo Nam Paig revisited the distinctive artistic world of the late Korean painter Soo Nam Paig (1943–1998).

Paig developed a highly personal visual language through his recurring imagery of beads, spheres, and cosmic forms. His paintings bring together elements of Korean cultural origins, ancient tomb artifacts, shamanic symbolism, and visions of the universe and eternal life. The recurring motif of beads functions not simply as a formal device, but as a symbolic language through which the artist explored life, death, time, space, and transcendence.

The exhibition focused particularly on Paig’s Sinsi Asadal series and related works, revealing his distinctive synthesis of Korean sensibility and Western hyperrealist painting. His densely composed surfaces and luminous spherical forms create a mysterious visual space in which earthly existence and the cosmic realm appear to intersect.

Curated and directed by Esther Kim, the exhibition sought to bring renewed attention to Paig’s artistic legacy and to present his work within the contemporary context of the Jirisan Biennale’s theme, “Local Renaissance: Life Art & Nature Art.” The exhibition proposed a renewed encounter with an artist whose work connects Korean cultural memory with universal questions of existence and eternity.

Artist: Soo Nam Paig (1943–1998)
Exhibition: Soo Nam Paig Special Exhibition
Dates: November 7 – December 29, 2024
Venue: Jirisan Art Farm / Jirisan Contemporary Art Museum, Hadong, South Korea
Exhibition Director: Esther Kim
Presented as part of: Jirisan Biennale 2024