About
In my artistic pursuits, I create abstract landscapes that serve as visual expressions of emotions and memories. The primary source of my inspiration originates from meticulously kept diaries since my adolescence. Within these diaries, I document emotional and poignant events alongside everyday observations. One significant episode from my past stands out: at the age of 17, the Jong-Ro neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea—my childhood home—succumbed to government-led modernization plans, profoundly impacting my teenage years. Now, as an adult decades later, I began creating art based on excerpts from my teenage diary, using this process as a cathartic means to reconcile with the loss of my childhood abode. While my recent works draw inspiration from diverse experiences and concepts, they remain rooted in the essence of my writing.
I interpret the recorded moments within my diary pages through dreamlike scenes that subtly allude to the natural world. Rather than directly depicting nature, my paintings emerge as interior or spiritual landscapes, encapsulating thoughts, emotions, and memories. Each artwork originates from a diary excerpt, and titles are directly drawn from its pages. Narratives unfold through the interplay of color, composition, and form. My creative process involves painting the background and subsequently overlaying the canvas with fragments of paper—comprising rice paper and painted or magazine-sourced paper. Each piece of paper serves as a mnemonic, meticulously affixed to the canvas. Forms and colors are imbued with significance: a mountain shape metaphorically represents life obstacles, lines signify permanency, green embodies longing and hope, and yellow symbolizes enlightenment and transience. By selecting colors, defining forms, and paper patterns, I experience a kind of Zen dialogue with my soul.
Therefore, my creative process goes beyond merely creating aesthetic appeal; it is a means of reconstructing and interpreting memories. Within my work, I aspire to uncover the elusive, reclaim a past that has slipped away, and capture moments from both the present and the future. In essence, my landscapes encapsulate the narrative and journey of my life."
Solo Exhibitions
2022 Storiescape, Library of Belskie Museum of Art and Science, Closter, NJ
2020 Friendscape, The Garage Art Center, Baysides, NY
2016 Beyond Visual Voice, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, Piermont, NY
2015 Letter-scape, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, Piermont, NY
2013 My Visual Essay, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, Piermont, NY
2013 Artist of the Month, Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, Nyack, NY
2012 My Diary in Landscapes, Riverside Gallery, Hackensack, NJ
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023
NYSWA Group Exhibition “60 Together 100 Strong, Queens College Art Center, NY
32nd International Juried Exhibition, Viridian Artists Gallery, New York, NY
“Emerging” featured group exhibition, Nails at The Wall Gallery of St.Luke’s Church, Metuchen, NJ
“Still Life”, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
4th Annual Still Life Art Exhibition, Fusion Art, Santa Fe, MN
39th Annual Exhibition of National Collage Society, Liberty Hall Academic Center and Gallery at Kean University, Union, NJ
“Inspired by…” Exhibition, The Art Garage, Green bay, WI
2022
Group Exhibition “Image, Pattern and Texture, John W. Meagher Gallery, NJ
New Horizons: Landscapes 2022, 3 Square Art Gallery, CO
All Art You Do : The Red Bluff Art Gallery, CA
Evolution/Revolution, NYSWA Group exhibition, Taller Boricua Gallery, NY
2021
NYSWA Member exhibition “Memory” virtual exhibition, NY
Edward Hopper House Center Member exhibition virtual exhibition, NY
Women on the Edge of Time, NYSWA Group Exhibition, Taller Boricua Gallery, NY
New Observation Magazine, Special Issue # 137
Women in Art, Group Exhibition, Las Laguna Art Gallery, CA
Art & Social Justice, Exhibition of Ellington-White Gallery, NC
“APERO” Fine Art Publication
The Art of Healing, A collaborative exhibition between Englewood Health and The Mikhail Zakin Gallery, NJ
“Awakening”, Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery, Art, Art League of Long Island, NY
“Visualizing The Past”, Mills Pond Gallery, Smithtown Township Arts Council, NY
2020
WYWM Group Exhibition “And How”, John W. Meagher Rotunda Gallery, Jersey City, NJ
The Drawing Room 8th Group Exhibition “Interweaving”, Alfred Van Loen Gallery, Huntington Station, NY
Edward Hopper House Annual Members Exhibition, Azarian McCullough Art Gallery, St.Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, NY
Female Gender Identity and Equality, New York Society of Women Artists,Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery, New Rochelle, NY
2019
Creative Pursuit Collective Vision Group Show, Dr. Dee and Sue Boswell Art Gallery, Kaskaskia College, Centralia, IL
Threads & Pigment, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
Mono Prismatic Scene, Queens College Art Center, Flushing, NY
Far & Wide, Woodstock Artists Association & Museum, Woodstock, NY
LIC Arts Pop Up, New York Society of Women Artists, Long Island City, NY
Edward Hopper House Annual Members Exhibition, Bell-ans Center for Creative Arts, Orangeburg, NY
2018
Parthibition, Space Ciel Gallery, Pompton Lakes, NJ
Edward Hopper House Annual Members Exhibition, Union Arts Center, Sparkill, NY
Art as Sanctuary, New York Society of Women Artists, Mikhail Zakin Gallery, Demarest, NJ
East Meets West, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY
Personal Speaking, International House Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Art in Life, NoBA Art Space, Bala Cynwyd, PA
Art & Soul, Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY
Relishing Restraint, Loft Artists Association Gallery, Stamford, CT
38th Annual Faber Birren National Color Award Show, The Stamford Art Association, Stamford, CT
Insight in Sight, Art League of Long Island, Dix Hills, NY
2017
The Primacy of Color II, Mikhail Zakin Gallery, Demarest, NJ
Dynamic Dimensions, Belskie Museum of Art & Science, Closter, NJ
Prism of life, The Henry Gallery, Penn State Great Valley, Malvern, PA
Evolving, Drawing Room Group Exhibition, Washington Cultural Center, Washington, D.C.
Annual Member Exhibition, Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, Nyack, NY
The Primacy of Color III, Carriage Barn Art Center, New Canaan, CT
Multi-Lane II, Demouzy Contemporary, Rockville Centre, NY
Queens: Envisioning Habitats, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
2016
NEXUS, Arts Guild New Jersey, Rahway, NJ
Syncretized, Space 776, Brooklyn, NY
The Primacy of Color, George Bills Gallery, NY
Annual Member Exhibition, Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, Nyack, NY
The 37th Annual Juried Exhibition, Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ
Spring Juried Exhibition, OCG Artist Guild Gallery ,Greenville, IL
Group Exhibition, Montgomery County Community College, Bluebell, PA
2015
Colors of Korea, The Henry Gallery, Penn State Great Valley, Malvern, PA
Size Matters, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, Piermont, NY
Youth Art Award & Invitational Art Exhibition, City Hall, Jersey City, NJ
Bridge to Korea, International House Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Replenished, Hutchins Gallery at Schwartz Library, Brookville, NY
Something Cool, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
New York Society of Women Artists, Library of Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
Common Interest, Nabi Museum of the Arts, Teaneck, NJ
Solstice, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, Piermont, NY
Last Year Show 2015, Nabi Museum of the Arts, Teaneck, NJ
2014
Invitational Exhibition, Art Transform Gallery, New Rochelle, NY
Nature, Powerhouse Books, Brooklyn, NY
Emerging-scape, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
Annual Member Exhibition, Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, Nyack, NY
2013
Unspoken Story, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
The First Sextet, Drawing Room Exhibition, Riverside Gallery, Hackensack, NJ
PAC Group Exhibition, Korean Community Center, Englewood, NJ
Trio Exhibition, Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Honor Award, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, The Art Students League, New York, NY
Annual Member Exhibition, Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, Nyack, NY
2012
Art Student’s League Group Exhibition, Manhattan Borough President’s Office, New York, NY
Journey III, The Gallery at St. Asaph’s, Bala Cynwyd, PA
Journey II, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
Annual Member Exhibition, Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, Nyack, NY
2011
Small But Significant, Philip Jaisohn Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Asian:American–Homogenous, The Asian Art Initiative, Philadelphia, PA
Grand Opening Exhibition, Art & Light Gallery, La Mesa, CA
Side by Side, Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Dialogue without Walls, Philip Jaisohn Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Selected Art Fairs
2017 Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY
2016 New York Art Expo, New York, NY
2015 Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY
2015 Aqua Art Show, Miami, FL
2014 Fountain Art Fair, New York, NY
2012 Bolt Art Fair, Tenri Cultural Institute, New York, NY
2012 Bolt Art Fair, Fullerton, CA
2011 Gwang Hwa Moon Int’l Art Fair, Seoul, South Korea
Awards
2022 Selected work, Jury Exhibition at 3 Square Art Gallery, CO
2021 The 3rd Place, The Ellington-White Gallery, NC
2021 The 2nd Place, Fine Art Publication ‘APERO’
2019 Honorable Mention, Jury Art Exhibit & Sale, Rockland County Pride Center, Nyack, NY
2018 Selected work, Personal Speaking, International House of Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA
2016 Selected work, NEXUS, Arts Guild New Jersey International Juried Exhibition, Rahway, NJ
2015 First Prize in Spring Exhibition, Our Common Ground Artist Guild Gallery, Greenville, IL
2013 Selected work for Art-Connection program at Art-Reach, Philadelphia, PA
Bibliography
“Art and soul: An interview with artist Sueim Koo,” Blastingnews, 2017
Korean KTC TV Broadcast Interview, August 15, 2015
“Sueim Koo: Anniversary Art Exhibit,” Artist Portfolio Magazine, 2016
Featured Artist in The Artist Catalogue, Vol.4-Issue 4, Winter 2015
Collections
Theressa L. Davis, Hope Center, PA
Camphill Village, Kimberton Hills, PA
Korean Community Center, Tenafly, NJ
Private Collections
Education
BFA Purchase College, State University of New York, 2010
The Art Students League of New York, 2012-2013