Youngsuk Suh
Boating, Idaho, 2009, from Instant Traveler
Archival Pigment Print on Rag Paper, 16 x 20 in.
Signed and numbered, Special Edition of 3
$375 | Purchase
Statement
For the past three years, I have been living in the central valley of Northern California and this has afforded opportunities to observe a variety of human activities within natural environments. Many of these activities take place in less-regulated (or private) lands and seem to be a more direct expression of our desire to commune with nature. The images in this series are monuments to this individual desire. One travels away from civilization in order to be immersed in ’pure’ nature only to discover oneself an alternative civilized institution. Yet despite the cynicism implied in the study of modern travel, the genuine desire for close bodily contact with nature cannot be ignored. No matter how illusory the “nature” experience may be, one stands at the peak of a mountain yearning to be profoundly moved. Instant Traveler collects these traces of longing.
Bio
Born in Seoul, Korea, Youngsuk Suh moved to the United States in 1994 to study photography. He received his BFA at Pratt Institute and his MFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. He had many solo exhibitions with Clifford Smith Gallery, Boston, Jane Deering Gallery, Gloucester and Gallery ON, Seoul, Korea. He was invited to Seoul International Photography Festival in 2008. His photographs are collected in Santa Barbara Museum of Arts, Iron Museum in Korea, Fidelity Investment Collection, and Wellington Management Collection. He has been Assistant Professor of Photography at University of California, Davis since 2006. He is currently working on his new project “Wildfires,” a photographic survey of wildfires in California.