NYAB Event - Yong-Sun Suh “New works”

Yong-Sun Suh “New works”

Kips Gallery

This event has ended.

“The color of the plastic seat that is in the F line train is orange. Every time I visit New York, the urban space and environment feels different. Last winter, the view of the Hudson River from Jersey, and the darkness inside the Spanish bus to New York that I was on, together made a interesting and simple harmony. It seems that this kind of feelings are reflected in my recent work. My paintings tend to be more filled with deep and dark colors, reflecting the dark hair of the spanish on that bus on his way to work. And yet, I was still having problems to finish this series of works.

When I came back to the city in August, I was often asked from Christine if there is any difference in my work when I work in New York compared with paintings done in other places? Always my response is yes. My paintings done in New York did get darker. The time spend in New York City does reflect in my work as dim and gloomy like being in the subway or like the buildings with no lights. Whether it was my psychological reaction to the dark side of the city or simply the seats of the F line train that I sit on everyday, the color orange has come to be very much emphasized in the pieces that I am showing at my upcoming exhibition at Kips Gallery. Every morning I look at billboards and signs of Korean stores on the bus Q13 or Q28 in Queens, which is taking me to the main street of Flushing. Then through the crowds of Asians, I take the 7 train and transfer to the F train at 74st. While I am traveling during the rush
hours, I observe the motions of these other people, my fellow passengers, on the train - and everyday I kept sketching.

In life, we walk the line between hope and despair, and in these paintings that fine line is reflected by the sounds of the trains as they come and go, carrying the bodies of the people that inhabit these urban spaces. This work has progressed through the lens of the smart phone, from daily sketches, my observations and memories of such scenes and feelings, and especially the remembrance of the colors and forms - the basics that makes up these paintings. My incomplete understanding of these urban spaces once again are transformed into pieces of art, each portraying the transformation of
the city on me, as well.”