Do Ho Suh: ‘348 West 22nd Street’ at LACMA

Do Ho Suh: ‘348 West 22nd Street’.

Do Ho Suh: ‘348 West 22nd Street’ at LACMA LACMA Los Angeles presents ‘348 West 22nd Street’ (2011–15), a new maze-like installation by South Korean artist Do Ho Suh. November 10th 2019 to October 25th 2020.]]>

Source: LACMA

Do Ho Suh’s works elicit a physical manifestation of memory, exploring ideas of personal history, cultural tradition, and belief systems in the contemporary world. Best known for his full-size, fabric-and-steel reconstructions of his former residences in South Korea, Rhode Island, Berlin, London, and New York, Suh’s creations of physicalized memory address issues of home, displacement, individuality, and collectivity, articulated through the architecture of domestic space.

A recent gift to LACMA, “348 West 22nd Street” (2011–15) replicates the artist’s ground-floor residence from a single New York building. Created in luminous swaths of translucent polyester, the dreamlike rooms and hallways are supported by a subtle stainless-steel armature. In this immersive passageway of conjoined rooms, visitors pass through an ephemeral, ghostly representation of the artist’s personal history. The corridor, stairs, apartment, and studio are each rendered in a single block of color, with fixtures and appliances replicated in exacting detail. Fusing traditional Korean sewing techniques with 3D mapping technologies, the maze-like installation of 348 West 22nd Street balances intricate construction with delicate monumentality. Born in South Korea in 1962, Suh moved to the United States in 1991 and currently lives between New York, London, and Seoul. Inspired by his own history of migration, Suh’s ethereal, malleable architecture presents an intimate world both deeply familiar and profoundly estranged.

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