SooYoung Seo is a research-based Sindongyanghwa artist whose colorful and richly textured works are informed by Korea’s past artistic traditions and techniques. Sindongyanghwa, or New Orientalism, is a twenty-first century Korean art movement that seeks to reimagine and reinterpret East Asian art within a more modern and global context. What distinguishes Seo within the movement is her research-based practice. Having completed her PhD in historical materials and techniques, Seo makes her own mulberry paper, mineral paints, and glue according to traditional methods and utilizes them in unconventional and innovative ways in order to create striking artworks that explore the intersection between heritage and modernity.

Seo received her BFA, MFA, and PhD from Dongduk Women’s University and has previously taught as an adjunct professor in the Department of Painting at Dongduk. She has had over thirty solo exhibitions and more than two hundred group shows in both Korea and abroad, including those at the Hanbyeokwon Museum of Art, Youngeun Art Museum, and Galerie Visconti in Paris. Her works can be found in private and public collections in Korea, including at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Youngeun Art Museum, and the Hankuk Art Museum. She has also published three books.