︎
SHIM MOON-SEUP심문섭
b.1943, Tongyeong, Korea.
Shim Moon-seup (b. 1943, Tongyeong, Korea) is considered the pioneer of Korean contemporary sculpture, whose inquisitive, experimental approach to materiality challenged and broadened the medium of sculpture. Since the 1970s, Shim incorporated natural and industrial materials such as soil, stone, wood, and iron in his sculpture, achieving a delicate balance between the man-made and natural processes. His sculpture was in dialogue with concurrent movements around the work, such as Arte Povera, Minimalism, and Mono-ha. Since the mid-2000s, Shim expanded his practice to painting and photography while maintaining the ethos from his sculptural work. His recent painting series is inspired by the seascape from his hometown Tongyeong. Shim’s seemingly abstract, repetitive application of paint on canvas captures the rhythm, movement, and enormous energy of tides. The canvas plays a crucial role here, not as a simple background, but as an active agent appearing and retreating like a wave. For Shim, painting becomes a space where constant flow and rupture of meaning happens.
Shim was awarded the Excellence Award from the Henry Moore Grand Prize in 1981 and the Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et Lettres in 2007. He participated in Paris Biennale from 1971 to 75 and Venice Biennale in 1995 and 2001. Shim’s recent solo exhibition includes Blume Museum of Contemporary Art, Paju (2019); Wonjon Art Museum, Beijing (2018); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon (2017); Musee du Chateau du Kerguehennec, Bignan (2016); and Beijing Tokyo Art Project, Beijing (2015). Shim’s work can be found in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary, Seoul; the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul; Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul; Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul; Total Museum of Art, Jangheung; Seoul Olympics Outdoor Sculpture Park, Seo
ul; Incheon Sculpture Park, Incheon; Mihama Outdoor Sculpture Museum of Art, Hukui; and Hakone Sculpture Park, Hakone.
Exhibitions