Closing one's eyes surrounded by loved ones at home is perhaps the most peaceful way to pass away. At home, there is no need to prove 'myself.' One can simply be a person, a son, a husband, or a father. There is a place to lie down, someone to lean against, and familiar scents. Thus, the phrase 'I want to go home' sometimes translates to 'I want to return to my true self and rest.'
Home is also present at the beginning of life. A newborn enters the world wrapped in a soft garment, cradled in a parent's arms, heading home. This is the first relationship, the first love. Eventually, that child will leave home to create their own, and one day return with a new life in their arms. Life flows between homes and people, with love weaving through.
The exhibition 'Suh Do-ho' at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul allows visitors to feel this love. The life of artist Suh Do-ho, 64, reflects our own lives. While the forms of homes and lives differ, the underlying gentle love that caresses the body and mind is expressed through thread and fabric.
The exhibition encompasses Suh's artistic journey, from unpublished early works from his childhood and college years to his representative pieces and ongoing projects.
During a press conference on August 26, Suh spoke about 'life.' He noted, "I often hear people say that looking at my work makes them think of their own homes and lives."
The exhibition traces Suh's journey from his childhood to fatherhood. It begins with 'Seed Bank,' a collection of unpublished early works from his kindergarten to college years, and progresses through fabric representations of the homes he lived in, culminating in 'Memory of Love,' filled with memories of family. Although it showcases one artist's work, it prompts reflections on the circular connections from parent to self, to child, and from home to school and society.
In the early part of the exhibition, visitors can see childhood works, including soap sculptures and drawings of camping preparations and astronauts. In the later section, they encounter a piece made from his children's T-shirts, tights, and shoes, accumulated over ten years, representing paternal love. This transforms childhood works into something more profound than mere memories, intertwining the time of young Suh, cherished by his parents, with the time of Suh as a father, holding onto his children's moments.
The exhibition features Suh's signature 'fabric homes.' His work 'Loving/Loving: Seoul Home,' which he describes as a self-portrait of both himself and his father, serves as a cornerstone supporting the weight of life. The subsequent homes appear as if they could float away like dandelion seeds, yet they follow closely like the moon, evoking a sense of sweetness akin to cotton candy that melts in your hand.
A home is both a closed and an open space. 'Perfect Home: London, Hoshim, New York, Berlin, Providence, Seoul' recreates the interior of Suh's current home in London at actual size, with fabric representations of doorknobs and light switches from past homes attached to its surface. The artist's energy, breath, and memories are transparently intertwined, suggesting that someone else may add their own energy to the home Suh has left behind.
Homes evolve with life. "Most of the fabric homes I created were made when I was single. They emerged from conversations with the empty room where I sat alone. There was nothing between the room and me."
Change has drawn people in.
"With marriage and children, home became more than just a physical space; it became a 'family.' As people entered the space between me and the room, all the stories that emerged became part of the home. Expanding that concept leads to school, society, country, and even the universe."
The exhibition runs until March 28, 2027, with support from Hermes and Genesis. 'Apartment A, Hallway and Stairs, 348 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011' will be unveiled on December 18.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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