Won Sou-Yeol

Biography

Won Sou-Yeol
(born in 1949, Jeju Island, Korea)

Eventhough Won Sou Yeol lives in France since 1984, she finds great strength in the natural elements of the Chejudo Island, in Korea, where she was born in 1949. Between the land and the sea, disrupted by the natural elements, her paintings take its strength from them. Imbued with dynamism and power, they express the movement, marked by the contrast between black and white, light and shadow. Her large and concentrated gesture creates cracks, splashes. Using different tools, she creates paintings at the same time heavy and light with a lot of material. This is why she draws away from the art of calligraphy constituted of a light brush stroke. We find in the work of Won Sou-Yeol the principles of abstract expressionism and of action painting. She is often associated with artists such as Hartung or De Kooning. Kline is one of the artists who most influenced her. Her work is full of renewed energy, for which she completely dedicates her body and soul. Won Sou-Yeol tells that one day, while she was painting, she looked at the clock : three years have passed.

The artist graduated from the École nationale Supérieure d'Arts de Paris- Cergy. Furthermore, art critics, like Michel Nuridsany, consider her to be the major representative of the Korean abstraction. Her works were exhibited in 2015-2016 at the Cernuschi Museum during the exhibition "Séoul ? Paris ? Séoul" in link with the year of Korea in France.

Exhibitions selected

2017 - Art Paris Art Fair, Paris
2016 - Rythmes, Galerie Françoise Livinec, Paris
2016 - Art Élysées, Paris
2016 - L'attrape-feu, l'art réenchante le monde, Ecole des filles, Huelgoat
2016 - Art Pais Art Fair, Galerie Françoise Livinec, Paris
2015 - Art Élysées, Galerie Françoise Livinec, Paris
2015 - Briser le toit de la maison - Le sacré dans l'art, École des filles, Huelgoat
2015 - Artistes Coréens, Musée Cernushi, Paris
2015 - Erupting Path to Seek the Truth, Jéju Musée d'Art Contemporain, Corée du Sud.
2014 - Won Sou-Yeol, musée d'Art contemporain Youngeun, Kwangju, Corée du Sud
2013 - Retospect, Galerie Toxic, Luxembourg
2004/2012 - Galerie Toxic, Luxembourg
2001 - Galerie Simoncini, Luxembourg
2000 - Galerie du Mail, Genève
1996 - Galerie Bhak, Séoul
1995 - Galerie Pierre Michel D., Paris
1994 - Galerie Tenri, Paris
1993 - Espace Mémoire, Rouen
1992 - Galerie Bernanos, Paris

Collections

Jéju Musée d'art contemporain, Jéju, Corée du Sud
Youngeun Musée d'art contemporain, Gwangju, Corée du Sud
Schema Musée d'Art, Cheongju, Corée du Sud
Galerie Toxic, Luxembourg
Armand Hein, Luxembourg
Kyobo, Séoul, Corée du Sud
InterContinental Hotel, Séoul, Corée du Sud

Bibliography

2011 - WON Sou-Yeol, Editions Janninck