A foundational figure in contemporary Korean art, Park Seo-Bo is widely celebrated as the father of Dansaekhwa, the Korean Minimalism movement. Born during Japanese occupation and shaped by the Korean War, Park was instrumental in introducing abstraction to Korea’s conservative postwar art scene. His early engagement with Art Informel evolved into a deeply introspective practice rooted in repetition, process, and Eastern philosophy.
His seminal Écriture series, begun in 1967, embodies a meditative act of mark-making—initially pencil incisions on wet monochrome surfaces, later expanded through the innovative use of hanji, traditional Korean paper. These tactile works merge drawing and painting into sculptural forms, emphasizing rhythm, breath, and the passage of time.
Park’s use of natural pigments and handmade materials reflects his belief in harmony between art and nature. Over decades, his palette shifted from subdued neutrals to vibrant reds, greens, and blues inspired by personal memory and the Korean landscape. For Park, the artistic process was a spiritual discipline—a quiet search for unity through repetition and reduction.
His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and remains a touchstone for understanding the material, philosophical, and cultural evolution of Korean modernism.