Shin Sung-Hy

Biography

Shin's work is a constant quest to transcend the fundamental principles of painting. A variety of artistic explorations are reflected throughout his body of work. He has tackled issues such as the flatness of the canvas, the materiality of pigments, and the limitations of the canvas frame, leading to the invention of his knotting method, which involves weaving and tying strips of painted canvas.

In the 1990s, he began his Solution de continuité series, in which he cut colored canvases into strips to reassemble and sew them back together. The seams are exposed, and the edges are roughly cut so that light and shadow play across them, creating works that gain relief and become three-dimensional.

Later, throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Shin continued his exploration with the Nouages series, which led to his most well-known knotting technique. In these works, the artist paints both sides of the canvas, tears it into thin, uniform or irregular strips, and then weaves the strips together to form an array of taut knots on a stretcher. By weaving and knotting the strips, Shin reconfigures the materials into new paintings, resulting in a monochromatic white surface with knots of color. This knotted canvas of woven holes and raised textures creates a three-dimensional relief that transforms the flat surface into a work of art itself. In this relief, textured and flat lines coexist within this sculptural painting or painterly sculpture, disrupting genre boundaries—a significant achievement in the pictorial revolution.

The artist strove throughout his life to remain a painter while refusing to stay within traditional painting boundaries. In all his works, he never ceased to deconstruct and reconstruct.

Exhibitions selected

2024 Shin Sung-Hy, Palazzo Caboto, Venice, Italy
2022 Shin Sung-Hy, Galerie Hyundai, Seoul, South Korea
2016 Shin Sung-Hy, baudoin lebon, Paris, France
2009 Galerie Proarta, Zurich, Switzerland
2005 Galerie Hyundai, Seoul, South Korea
         Château des Bouillanto, Dammarie-les-Lys, France
2004 BIBI Space, Daejoen, South Korea
2003 Galerie Proarta, Zurich, Switzerland
         Le Moulin de Lambourary, Chartre, France
2002 Galerie INAX, Tokyo, Japan
         Galerie Andrew Shire, Los Angeles, United States
         Galerie Mill, Gimpo, South Korea
2001 Suka Art Space, Busan, South Korea
         Galerie Hyunday, Seoul, South Korea
2000 Galerie Proarta, Zurich, Switzerland
         baudoin lebon, Paris, France
1999 Galerie Andrew Shire, Los Angeles, United States
1998 Galerie Convergence, Nantes, France
         Art Basel, avec la Galerie Hyundai, Bâle, Switzerland
1997 baudoin lebon, Paris, France
1996 FIAC, avec baudoin lebon, Paris, France
1995 Galerie Shinsegae Hyundai Art, Seoul, South Korea