Korean artist Do Ho Suh has transformed Tate Modern’s galleries into a dreamscape of translucent, fabric-wrapped architectures in his largest UK exhibition to date. Running until September 2024, Do Ho Suh: Tracing Time invites visitors to wander through life-sized replicas of the artist’s past homes, intricate thread drawings, and immersive installations that blur the boundaries between memory, migration, and space.
Known for his delicate fabric reconstructions of domestic interiors, Suh recreates the spaces he has inhabited—from his childhood home in Seoul to his New York apartment—using pastel-hued mesh fabrics that appear both spectral and solid. The exhibition’s centerpiece, Hub, 262 W. 22nd St., New York, NY 10011 (2011), is a full-scale replica of Suh’s former residence, suspended like a ghostly blueprint of his lived experience. Visitors can walk through its corridors, touching the sheer fabric walls that seem to dissolve under the gallery lights, embodying the transient nature of home and belonging.
Alongside these architectural interventions, Suh presents a series of Thread Drawings—monochrome embroideries that reinterpret blueprints and photographs with meticulous stitching. These works, often spanning entire walls, explore the fragility of memory and the laborious process of preserving it. In Rubbing/Loving Project (2016–ongoing), Suh uses pencil and paper to trace the surfaces of his homes, creating frottage artworks that capture the textures of door handles, light switches, and floorboards—each a tactile archive of personal history.
The exhibition also marks the debut of Specimen Series: A Place in the World (2023), a new installation featuring household objects—radiators, sinks, and fuse boxes—encased in resin blocks like scientific specimens. These works question how everyday objects shape our sense of place, a recurring theme in Suh’s practice.
Born in Seoul in 1962 and trained in traditional Korean painting before studying at RISD and Yale, Suh’s work resonates with the global diaspora, reflecting on displacement and the emotional weight of spaces. His fabric architectures, often disassembled and reassembled for exhibitions, mirror the portability of memory itself.
Tate Modern’s vast Turbine Hall provides an ideal setting for Suh’s meditative installations, amplifying their ethereal quality. Curated by Clara Kim, the exhibition positions Suh as a pivotal figure in contemporary art, bridging sculpture, architecture, and autobiography.
For those seeking an encounter with art that is both intimate and expansive, Do Ho Suh: Tracing Time is a poetic exploration of how we carry places within us. Tickets are available via Tate Modern’s website, with timed entry slots recommended for this highly anticipated show.