Park Seo-Bo

A homage to a pioneering figure in Korean contemporary art Park Seo-Bo, a Korean painter and a master of Dansaekhwa, is a key figure in the history of Korean contemporary art. He was born in 1931, during a time when Korea was enduring the historical turmoil of imperial rule, and came of age amid the devastation of the Korean War. The prolonged hardships of this era dismantled the nation's social and cultural foundations and from what felt like awasteland, Park rose-through fierce determination-to become an internationally acclaimed artist. This book presents two distinct perspectives on his life. One is an unfiltered autobi¬ography drawn from Park's own meticulous records going back to his birth and up to the late '70s. The other offers an external view, illuminating the passionate story of the artist's entire life through a graphic novel, designed to be accessible and engaging to a wide range of readers. Through this two-volume set, readers can gain both deep and enjoyable understanding of Park Seo-Bo's life and his artistic philosophy. Park Seo-Bo (1931-2023) was a pioneer of Korean contemporary abstract art and a central figure in the Dansaekhwa movement. He pursued a meditative practice of emptying the self through repetitive actions, seeking the spiritualization of materiality that results in the process. His Pencil Ecriture works are now held in major museums around the world. In the Color Ecriture series that he created from the 2000s onward, the artist expanded the scope of his work by introducing Nature's colors into his art. In his lifelong dedication to artmaking, Park played a vital role in bringing Korean art to the global stage.