Sung Min Woo

Written By Ellia Melin

  • Country of Origin: South Korea

    Gender:

    Born in X in Korea

  • Education

    • PhD, Dept. of Art Education, Korea National University of Education

    • MFA, Dept. of Oriental Painting, Hong-Ik University

    • BFA, Dept. of Oriental Painting, Hong-Ik University

    Solo Exhibitions

    • 2024 Grass Garden (Art Center Zain, Seoul)

    • 2024 LOTTE HOTEL SEOUL×Minwoo Sung OIKOS (Lotte Hotel Seoul, Seoul)

    • 2024 Bouquet for You (Art Lounge by Seraphim, Seoul)

    • 2024 Sung Min Woo Invitation (ProRata Art Gallery, Seoul)

    • 2023 SEASON (Gallery Roun, Seoul)

    • 2023 Oikos_Sung Min Woo (Seoul Art Center Museum, Seoul)

    • 2023 Special Award Winners of the 20th Lee Donghoon Art Award (Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon)

    • 2023 Oikos_Sung Min Woo (Gallery Jeonganmyeon, Gongju)

    • 2022 Oikos_Sung Min Woo (Gallery Cheongju, Cheongju)

    • 2022 Oikos_Ecology of Relation (ETRI, Daejeon)

    • 2022 Oikos_Kore’s Bouquet (Art Hub Metabus Museum 2)

    • 2022 Oikos_Begin Again (Gallery Able, Sejong)

    • 2021 Being There for Someone (Gallery Red L, Deajeon)

    • 2021 Kore’s Bouquet (Artist Residency TEMI, Daejeon)

    • 2020 Little Grass (Gallery kitanozaka, Kobe)

    • 2020 Oikos_Spring (Gallery Goat Bean, Daejeon)

    • 2019 Little Grass (Gallery H, Seoul)

    • 2019 Oikos_5th Season (Gallery Dos, Seoul)

    • 2018 Bouquet for Someone (Morris Gallery, Daejeon)

    • 2017 Oikos_Bouquet (KSD Gallery, Seoul)

    • 2016 Oikos (Gallery Grimson, Seoul)

    • 2015 Ecology (Jinju Scourt Gallery, Jinju)

    • 2015 Ecology (Gallery BDMC, Paris)

    • 2014 Ecology of Relation (AblefineartNYGallery, Seoul)

    • 2014 Portrait (Morris Gallery, Daejeon)

    • 2013 Portrait (AblefineartNYGallery, NewYork)

    • 2012 Annual (Gallery IS, Seoul; Morris Gallery, Deajeon)

    • 2012 Grass Garden (Hwabong Gallery, Seoul)

    • 2010 The Love of Life Lightly (Pop Art Factory, Seoul)

    • 2009 Grass (Mokin Gallery, Seoul)

    • 2007 Grass Met with Everywhere (Noam Gallery, Seoul)

    • 2005 Grass Portrait (DaeHakro 21C Gallery, Daejeon)

    • 2005 Golden Landscape (Kwan-hoon Gallery, Seoul)

    • 2003 Tree (Noam Gallery, Seoul)

    Latest Group Exhibitions

    • 2025 Color Spectrum (Salon de H, Seoul)

      • Triangular (Gallery JEINXENO, Seoul)

      • Art Space Project by Seraphim (COEX, Seoul)

    • 2024 MONOLOGUE&DIALOGUE (Art Center Zain, Seoul)

      • Hotel Fair Art Planning Hall (COEX, Seoul)

      • SPACE+ ART FAIR2024 (KINTEX, Ilsan)

      • Hustle&Bustle (spacelo, Seoul)

      • Faculty Art Show (Ilrak Gallery, Gongju)

      • 茶半香初 (ANGELI ART MUSEUM, Yongin)

      • Artists Fly (Gallery SUM, Daejeon)

      • Gongju Art Piece Shop Street (Leemijung Gallery, Gongju)

    • 2023 畵行和行 (Gallery Mona Lisa Sanchon, Seoul)

      • For My House (Art for Art, Daejeon)

      • Art Busan (BEXCO, Busan)

      • Plastic Art Seoul (COEX, Seoul)

      • Color of Fresh Green (Gallery Cheongju, Cheongju)

      • SIAF Drawing Festival (Art for Art, Daejeon)

      • Hoyeonjae Vol. 4 (Daedeok Cultural Center, Daejeon)

      • Korean Paintings on Craftworks (Leemijung Gallery:Gongju)

      • The Quality of Emotions (Gallery Cheongju, Cheongju)

      • Easy&Friendly (galleryearth, Seoul)

      • New Search &Expansion of Korean Painting (HAMPEONG Museum of Art, Hampeong)

      • Triangular Numbers T2=3 (Gallery JEINXENO, Seoul)

      • Hanji & Silk (Gallery Goat Bean, Daejeon)

    • 2022 I didn't say anything and do anything (Gallery JEINXENO, Seoul)

      • Five Colors in May (Gallery Doo, Seoul)

      • Unconventional Viewpoint (Gallery Cheongju, Cheongju)

      • Faculty Art Show (Illag Gallery, Gongju)

      • Gongju Art Piece Shop Street (Leemijung Gallery, Gongju)

      • Artists Fly (Gallery Goat Bean, Daejeon; Aurora Gallery, Yangsan)

      • Blossom (Gallery Millcreek, Hanam)

      • The Drawing-Fundamental (Gallery Grimson, Seoul)

      • Gwangju Hwaru (KJ Win-win Art Hall, Gwangju)

      • Open Wall in Singapore (Sofitel City Center, Singapore)

      • Four Persons Exhibition (Gallery K-water, Deajeon)

      • Three Colors Exhibition (Livein Gallery, Busan)

      • Age of Recovery (Gallery Cheongju, Cheongju)

      • Seoul Art Show (COEX, Seoul)

    • 2021 Artist Residency TEMI Preview (Artist Residency TEMI, Daejeon)

      • VR Virtual space opens (ARTHUB VR Gallery)

      • Korea-Japan Art Communications 5 (The Terminal KYOTO, Kyoto)

      • despierta (Morris Gallery, Daejeon)

      • Ecology, Eco Art and Femininity (Gallery Dongduk ,Seoul)

      • Another Meeting-in Daejeon (Morris Gallery, Daejeon)

      • HOPEISNOWHERE (Gamo Gallery, Seoul)

      • Artist Residency TEMI Report (Artist Residency TEMI, Daejeon)

      • Contemporary Ink Painting Exhibition ( Aglow Art Space, Taiwan)

      • Concrete Nymor (Gallery Kitanozaka, Kobe, Japan)

      • In Spite of··· (Livein Gallery, Busan)

    Awards

    • 2024 Incarnation Cultural Arts Foundation Art Award

    • 2022 Special Award of the 20th Lee Donghoon Art Award

    • 2021 Excellence Prize of the Gwangju Hwaru

    • 2015 Art Award of the Danwon Art Festival

    • 2015 Grand Prize of the Exhibition of Guemgang Art

    • 2013 Tomorrow Artist of Gyeomjae Jeongseon

    Art Fair

    • China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE), Shanghai Art Fair,

    • Singapore Art Fair, New York AAF, London Battersea AAF, Xian Art Fair,

    • Art Fair Daegu, Art Busan, Daejeon International Art Show, Seoul Open

    • Art Fair, Plastic Art Seoul, Asia Hotel Art Fair, World Art Expo

    Poession of Artwork

    • Seoul Museum of Art, Daejeon Museum of Art, Kim Hong Do Art

    • Museum, MMCA Art Bank, Korean Art Bank, Egypt Embassy of Korea,

    • Korea Gas Technology Corporation, Korea Water Resources Corporation,

    • ABLE IT, TJB, Gallery H, Beijing Cheong Gallery, Private Collection

    • Residency TEMI Art Center - Artist in 2021

    Teaching Carrier

    • Korea National University of Education, Gyeongsang National University,

    • Gongju National University of Education, Jinju National University of

    • Education, Chungnam National University, Gangneung-Wonju National

    • University, Changwon National University, Pai Chai University, Jeonbuk Museum of Art

  • SUNG Min Woo graduated from the Department of Oriental Painting at Hongik University and later earned her master’s degree from the university’s Graduate School of Fine Arts. She went on to receive a doctorate in art education from the Korea National University of Education.

    At the heart of SUNG’s work lies the concept of oikos, an ancient Greek term referring to a person’s private domain—the home—which also serves as the root of the words environment and ecology. Much like tracing the intricate structures of plants or the delicate balance of ecosystems, SUNG fills her canvases to the point where nothing more can be added, layering the colors of traditional Korean painting with gold and silver powder, inspired by the countless hues she observes in nature. Through this process, as if seeking to resolve the question of life’s absolute essence, she fills her compositions with plants, imprinting them at her own pace and rhythm.

    Recognizing the intrinsic value of every blade of grass, SUNG develops her artistic theory as an inquiry into the origins of life. Every living being carries its own meaning—even the most unassuming, nameless grasses share in the universe’s time and space from birth to death. All beings exist in a continuous dialogue, responding to one another in accordance with nature’s providence—an ecological perspective that, for SUNG, speaks to the infinite nature of plants and the fundamental truth of life that transcends both creation and extinction.

    Every life form is an artistic entity existing within an eternal time. The cycle of creation and destruction in nature mirrors the structure of life’s transience, reflecting the concept of reincarnation in human existence. SUNG intertwines this with her artistic philosophy—one that captures and seals time, creating an eternal space by dusting her works with gold and silver powder. Ultimately, through her art, SUNG unifies life, the laws of nature, and even her own existence into a singular expression, depicting all things in the world as they unfold within her own time and space.

Work

Ellia Melin
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Chang Tae-Young