Shim Moon-Seup

Shim Moon-Seup is a pioneer of modern sculpture in Korea whose practice explores nature and temporality beyond fixed genres and media. He received international recognition with the Excellence Award at the 2nd Henry Moore Grand Prize Exhibition in 1981 and France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) in 2007. Known for experimental anti-sculptural works, he challenges traditional sculpture through materiality, using wood, stone, earth, and iron. The Presentation, a painting series begun in the 2000s, extends his long-standing inquiry. Inspired by the sea of Tongyeong, repetitive brushstrokes evoke cycles of creation and destruction, reflecting the temporality of matter while blurring the boundary between sculpture and painting.