Suh Se-ok’s “Where Clouds Disperse”

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents the first major museum exhibition of Korean modernist Suh Se-ok

Comments (0) By Francisca Ortega Thursday, Jan 24 2008

At first glance, Suh Se-ok’s exhibition “Where Clouds Disperse” appears to be Korea’s version of the Rorschach test, but in these ink, paper and brush paintings, simplicity shrouds technical mastery. In the 1950’s, Suh Se-ok brought minimalism and abstraction to Korea’s conservative art world with his unprecedented style and figurative forms, and he’s played a pivotal role in the country’s modern art scene ever since.

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If you haven’t seen Suh’s work, that’s probably because “Where Clouds Disperse,” a collection spanning three decades opening today at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is his first major museum exhibition in the United States. With Suh’s images, such as Person, a simple “X” shape topped with a black-ink dot on cream-colored mulberry paper, what you see is what you get. And of course, determining what that is exactly is entirely up to you. One suggestion: Focus your eyes on the blank spaces between the inked lines, and the form’s dimensions emerge. 12:15 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Through April 20. 1001 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-639-7300 or visit www.mfah.org. $3.50 to $7; free on Thursdays.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Jan. 27. Continues through April 20, 2008