Suyeon Seo, an artist who captures profound human emotions through minimalistic and symbolic forms, opens up about her artistic journey, drawing inspiration from nature and music, and the challenges of creating evocative work. Curious to discover how she weaves heartfelt stories with simple lines and purposeful colors? Don’t miss this captivating interview!
1. Could you tell us a little about yourself and how your journey as an artist began?
Hello, my name is Suyeon Seo, and I’m an artist based in Korea whose work primarily explores the theme of emotion. I work across various media, including traditional hand-drawing, embroidery, and digital techniques. I’m also active as a researcher and educator. I think I initially started drawing as a way to release emotions and express my inner world. That beginning has naturally carried through to the work I continue to create today. I’m constantly thinking about how I can communicate messages more effectively and share them with a broader audience, and that question continues to guide my practice.
2. Your works often depict raw emotions through minimalistic forms. What inspires your visual language and approach?
I’ve conducted extensive research on visual language and metaphor, and I believe this has had an indirect influence on my work. Since emotions are inherently invisible, I find that the scope for expression is quite broad, and the way a piece is interpreted can vary widely depending on the viewer. In exploring ways to invite such open-ended interpretations, I’ve been deeply inspired by symbolic elements and semiotic expressions that carry metaphorical meaning. As you mentioned, I aim to convey emotional messages by emphasizing core elements within minimal forms, allowing the essence of the emotion to emerge more clearly.
3. How do you usually start a new piece? Do you follow a specific process or let intuition guide you?
I usually begin by asking myself, “What emotions am I feeling these days?” From there, I reflect deeply on what it is I truly want to communicate to others. Once that message becomes clear, I start thinking about symbolic imagery that can express it, and how those visuals can harmonize with my own unique character style. In this process, I also consider how to make the work visually engaging, shaping the forms while thinking about how to maintain both symbolic clarity and decorative appeal. I always try to take enough time to think things through before starting, and once I arrive at a concept I’m satisfied with—often through multiple idea sketches—I begin the actual work. Once the core elements and overall structure are in place, I often develop the finer details more intuitively as I go.
4. Many of your figures seem entangled with themselves or others. What do these compositions reflect emotionally or conceptually?
People often read emotions primarily through facial expressions, but I began to wonder if emotions could also be conveyed through gestures and the body. I have many fellow artists who work in performance art, and by watching their movements and gestures on stage, I was able to experience those expressions indirectly and found a great deal of inspiration in them. In my own work, the entangled figures often represent different meanings depending on the piece, such as empathy, embrace, or longing—but they all share a common purpose: to express emotion in an indirect and nuanced way.
5. Do you see your art as a form of self-expression, healing, or social commentary, or all of them at once?
I feel that all of these elements coexist in my work. While I initially began creating art as a means of self-expression and emotional release, over time, my focus has expanded as I started thinking about others who might be experiencing similar emotions. Lately, I’ve been increasingly drawn to the idea of creating work that encourages people to look inward or offers them a sense of comfort and solace.
6. What role does color—or the lack of it—play in your storytelling?
I don’t tend to use a wide range of colors in a single piece. Instead, I carefully choose colors that align with the message I want to convey. When I want the viewer to focus more on the decorative elements or the drawn forms themselves, I often minimize or completely exclude color. To me, if the symbolic elements and the gestures of the figures carry the emotional message, then color plays a supporting role—one that helps deliver and intensify that message.
7. How has your style or message evolved over time, and what experiences have shaped that evolution?
As I mentioned earlier, I usually begin my work by looking inward and reflecting on my own emotions. I feel that both my style and the messages in my work have become much softer than before. I’d like to believe it’s because I’ve found more space in my heart and a growing sense of calm. These days, I often draw from nature itself, incorporating elements like plants and flowers into my decorative and symbolic expressions. I think the sense of peace and wholeness I experience in nature has quietly influenced this change in my work.
8. Do you have any rituals or habits that help you enter a creative state?
I always start by listening to music before I begin working on a new piece. Just like many people listen to sad songs when they’re feeling down or upbeat music when they’re happy, I create playlists based on what I want to hear in that moment. As I listen, images naturally begin to form in my mind. Even when I’m working on a piece over a long period of time, revisiting the music I listened to at the beginning helps me reconnect with the original emotion and immerse myself in the process again.
9. What’s the most challenging aspect of creating art for you, emotionally or technically?
There are quite a few challenges. Emotionally, one of the most difficult aspects is visually expressing vague, unnamed feelings—and doing so in a way that allows viewers to interpret them freely based on their own perspectives. From a technical standpoint, I’ve been incorporating embroidery into my drawings, which has become a distinctive part of my work. As such, I’m constantly exploring and learning new techniques to integrate into my practice.
10. If someone unfamiliar with your work were to see just one piece, which would you want it to be, and why?
I’d like to share a piece titled LOVE. Although it has already been sold and is no longer in my possession, I’ve seen many people reflect on different kinds of love when looking at this work. One person was reminded of themselves and their sister, while another thought of a romantic partner. My hope is that anyone encountering the piece for the first time might be prompted to recall their own memories of love, in whatever form it may take.
11. Is there anything important you feel you haven’t said in this interview that you’d like to express here?
I believe that everyone lives while experiencing a wide range of emotions. But truly looking into those emotions—and expressing them to others—is not always easy. Many artists, including myself, use emotion as a central theme in our work. And I believe a piece is only truly complete when those emotions are no longer just personal, but become a shared experience through connection with others. I look forward to creating more opportunities for that kind of connection with people through my work.
