Vertical Research

Early Life:

Do-Ho Suh was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1962. He lived a very traditional life, with a Father who was well known for his Oriental Painting. He lived with the rest of his family in a Hanok, or a traditional Korean house. Following in his father’s footsteps, Do-Ho went to school at Seoul National University, and graduated with a BFA and then a MFA in Oriental Painting.  From then he was sent to the military to complete his mandatory term of service for the South Korean Government.

In an interview with PBS Do-Ho explains how, “From the minute you are born you know you are going to be in the military because everybody has to go. So that’s a great part of the Korean man’s identity.” Do-Ho served for almost two years and then left Seoul to continue his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design and then went on to study at Yale.

His move from Seoul all the way to New York really influenced him and his idea of ‘home’ as well as his idea of people being a bigger part of a whole. New York and Seoul are both fairly crowded cities, Do-Ho explained how it was normal to bump into someone and continue walking as though nothing had happened.

Early Influence: 

As mentioned above Do-Ho’s main influences could be listed as:

• The legacy of his father.

“I think I wanted to leave home because of my father…I felt his fame overshadow me, and I wanted to do my own thing.”- Do- Ho at an interview with PBS. Do-Ho would go on to promote his father’s work and direct a documentary about his father’s traditional ink paintings called, “Human Suh Se-Ok”:

• Do-Ho’s migration to New York.

Having been so close to family and tradition in Seoul really threw Do-Ho off when coming to New York and finding himself in a completely different culture, surrounded by crowds of people he was unfamiliar with. His nostalgia to find a “home” in New York inspired much of his art, in particular his ‘Home within home”. He worked with light portable textiles to be able to crate homes, his home, which he could pick up and take with him.

• Do-Ho’s time in the military.

Do-Ho’s time in the military contributed to his idea of the individual as part of a whole, a collective. This is seen in many of his pieces and shines through his manipulation of the public space, an area in which people come together as a whole.

Though many of his pieces share this theme one stands out in particular, “Some/One”, a kimono armor made entirely out of dog tags.

It plays with the idea of one soldier being part of an army, the same way one person is part of a bigger society; raising all kinds of questions about individuality.

Do-Ho is still very active in his work as an artist. He lives a pretty nomadic life, moving from New York, Seoul, and London, making new homes to take with him. He’s considered one of South Korea’s most renown artists and if you haven’t already guessed why click on the portfolio tab at the top of the screen I’ll show you some more of his work.