SEUNGHWUI KOO
Blue People 2015
24" x 24" x 2.50" (61.0 x 61.0 x 6.3 cm), Mixed media: acrylic on terracotta pigs on wood panel. Comprised of 3,000 handmade pigs. The work has many different topographical features and is visually striking. Each pig figurine measures 0.5" x 1" x 0.5". All of the pigs are made out of Terra-Cotta, while some of them are painted with acrylic.
"Each pig is handmade, a mold was not used because it is a meditative practice of hand-building in which I create imagery and objects in mass that speak to both our uniqueness and anonymity." - Koo
"My pig figures are symbolic of the different kinds of people I encounter in my own everyday race of a life. The satiric images have been purposely used to create a whimsical urban vibe to my work but upon further inspection represent a deeper and sometimes critical commentary on today’s society with the end goal of connecting with the viewer to inspire thought, forgiveness, solace and hope." - Koo
Bio
Seunghwui Koo creates her works by drawing inspiration from the daily happenings and intricate moments of her life in New York City. Her work is a commentary on the lives of New Yorkers as she has witnessed. She was born in South Korea, where she first had the idea of combining the pig’s head and human body. The significance of the pig’s head lies in the different symbolic meanings from the Eastern and Western cultures. Good fortune (Eastern) and greed (Western), two very different connotations of the pig, are themes that are a part of her works. She uses resin, acrylic, plaster, clay, and mixed media to create her works.
Koo has shown her sculptural works in a number of exhibitions including Monmouth Museum, NJ, Belskie Museum of Art & Science, NJ, Newark Museum, NJ, Azarian McCullough Art Gallery, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, NY and Main Line Art Center, PA, among others. She is one of the artists in the Chashama organization in NYC.
CV
Awards & Residencies
2016 '37th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Honorable Mention', Monmouth Museum, NJ
2015 'Studio Montclair's 18th Annual open Juried exhibition, 2nd Place', Aljira A Center for Contemporary, NJ
2015 'Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art', Main Line Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
2014 'Focus New Jersey 2014, 1st Place Sculpture', The Art Center of Northern New Jersey
2014 'The Allied Artists of America Members and Associated Award', Allied Artists of America, INC.
2013 Winner of '1st Call for Bushwick' Internation Art Competition and Exhibition, NY
2013 ‘Chashama Visual Art Studio Residency’ New York, NY
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2016 'Amazing Piggies’, NJ Emerging Artists Series, Monmouth Museum, NJ (Apr 29 - May 29)
2015 ‘PIGPLE’, Azarian McCullough Art Gallery, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, NY (Oct 12 - Nov 8, 2015)
2015 'Tweak of Natural’, 11th Annual Betsy Meyer Memorial Exhibition and Award
Main Line Art Center, PA (Mar 9 - Apr 21)
2013 'Narcissim' Chashama Gallery, NY (Mar 2 - 10)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016
‘Fantasy Pill’, 4person exhibition, Chashama, NY (Sep 20 – Oct 10) *Curated by Seunghwui Koo
‘4 Heads/9th Annual Governors Island Art Fair’, NY (Sep 3 – 25)
Monmouth Museum 37th Annual Juried Exhibition', Monmouth Museum, NJ (Jan 16 - Mar 13)
Professional Artist Membership and Exhibition', Main Line Art Center, PA (Jan 15 - Feb 14)
'Up Against the Wall', The Art Alliance of Monmouth County, NJ (Jan 9 - Feb 2)
2015
'Power, Protest and Resistance', Rush Arts Gallery, NY (Sep 24 - Oct 31)
'Eclectic Junction', Invitation exhibition, Riverside Gallery, NJ (Aug 26 - Sep 18)
'ViewPoints 2015', 18th Annual Juried Exhibition, Studio Montclair and Aljira a Center for Contemporary, NJ (Jun 4 - Jul 1)
'Art to Stop You in Your Tracks', 32nd Annual SNUCMAA, Marriott Hotel, Teaneck, NJ (Jun 4 - 7)
‘Chashama Open Studios and Exhibition’, Chashama 441 Studio & 266 Window space, NY (Mar 20 – 21)
'2015 Baker's Dozen, An exhibition of Winners for the 2015 Artists of the Month', Art Guild New Jersey, NJ (Feb 15 - Mar 12)
2014
'Confessions' Martin Hicks Gallery at Belskie Museum of Art & Science, NJ (Nov 16 - Dec 7)
'2014 Focus New Jersey' Art Center of Northern New Jersey, NJ (Nov 5 - Nov 21)
’82st Annual Juried Exhibition of the Hudson Valley Art Association’, NY (Sep 20 - 26)
'100th Anniversary, Annual Exhibition 2014' The Allied Artists of America, INC. NY (Sep 4 - 14)
‘Eye Candy’ Jadite Gallery, Hells Kitchen, NY (Jul 22 – Aug 16)
‘Summer Art Festival 2014” KATE SHIN Gallery, NY (Jul 11 – Dec 31)
'Ready or Not' New Jersey Arts Annual : Fine Art, Newark Museum, NJ (Jun 27 - Sep 7)
'Art From the Boros II' Denise Bibro Fine Art, Chelsea NY (Jun 19 - Aug 9)
‘Re.con.nect' Call for Artists 2014 Winners’ Korean Cultural Service NY (Jun 4 - Jul 25)
‘7th Annual Jersey City Invitational Art Exhibition - New Era’ Jersey City Hall, NJ (Apr 1 - 30)
'The Winner of competition 2014 - New Generation' Able Fine Art Seoul, South Korea (Jan 29 - Feb 11)
2013
'Curate NYC Top 150' RUSH Arts Gallery Chelsea, NY (Oct 24 - Nov 2)
'REvulsion' New Jersey City University Visual Arts Gallery, NJ (Oct 5 - Nov 7)
'I came so far for bearty', Riverside Gallery, NJ (Sep 10 - Oct 4)
'Bridging the Gap 1' (Traveling Group exhibition)', Flushing Town Hall, NY (Jun 27 - Jul 14)
‘1st Call for bushwick - The Beginning of a New Era’, Alessandro Berni Gallery, NY (May 31 -Jun 2)
‘Korean Artists show’, John W. Meagher Rotunda Gallery, City Hall, NJ (Apr 6 - 30)
2012
‘Balance NYC’, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, NY(Nov 11 - Dec 9)
‘Time’, Space Womb Gallery, NY (Nov 10 - 16)
2005
‘The New Generation – Visual Culture’, Gallery SHILLA , South Korea (Jun 14 - 22)
Education
2005 KyungpookNational University, B.F.A in Sculpture, Fine Art, South Korea
ARTIST PROFILE ON OUR BLOG: SEUNGHWUI KOO