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

If you havenย’t seen Suhย’s work, thatย’s probably because ย“Where Clouds Disperse,ย” 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 Suhย’s images, such as Person, a simple ย“Xย” 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 formย’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

This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2008.