SUNNY
HAN
Artist
About
Sunny Han
The South Korean Artist Seung Yup “Sunny” Han is an artist who has finished his BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a studio practice of Sculpture. He creates sculpture from a range of media while simultaneously demonstrating his expertise with metal fabrication and casting. Flirting with process and technique, Han continues learning through an evolving process that encourages the unexpected. While working on a sculptural element, he embraces both precise, anticipated elements, and the accidental outcomes that arrive unplanned. The experience of viewers is a vital part of his end product. The aspect of the audience reaction takes the artwork beyond its representational form into realms of emotion, thought, and memory. The viewer's role is another reason Han focuses so intently on meticulous construction. In the end, the art, the artist, and the audience form a truly one-of-a-kind relationship.
"The point of constructing something is to move towards an increasingly elegant visual structure. My large-scale work fabricated from small repeated forms establishes a record of my physical labor in the fabrication experience, creating a permanent bond between the artwork and the artist as I develop and reform myself along with the material piece. Each small form represents an aspect of my past, present, and future, fertilizing the outcome with every extra building block polished and further refined. The repetitive process of building onto something is like a meditation; the result puts the viewer in a mental state to explore my subconscious. The process is structurally designed but also has room for freedom. To me, metal fabrication is like taming a wild animal. Metal in its natural state can be rigid and tense. Sometimes it does not like to be told what to do and wants to move towards a particular direction contrary to my intentions. However, with the correct processes, metal can one more flexible. I cannot work against metal through sheer force, but through persuasion and compromise, I can transform my work into esthetic experience."
CV
Education
2015 The Art Institute of Chicago - BFA
Awards
2013 Remet Corporation - "Shaping the Future" award finalist
2014 Remet Corporation - "Shaping the Future" award finalist
Exhibitions & Festivals
Cliff Dwellers Club, Chicago, IL - 2019 (Cliff Dwellers Exhibition)
Navy Pier, Chicago,IL - 2019 (Chicago Flower and Garden Show)
Chicago Sculpture Exhibit, Chicago, IL - 2019 (Group Exhibition: 2019)
Cliff Dwellers Club, Chicago, IL - 2018 (Group Exhibition: Cliff Dwellers Club Exhibition)
Congruent Space, Chicago, IL - 2018 (featured artist of the month)
Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL – 2018 (Group Exhibition: CSI Biennial Design is a Verb)
Sculpt Siouxland, Sioux City, IA – 2018 (Group Exhibition: Sculpt Siouxland 2018)
Chicago Sculpture Exhibit, Chicago, IL - 2018 (Group Exhibition: 2018)
Oak Park Art League, Oak Park, IL – 2018 (Group Exhibition: Artist Member Exhibition)
Chicago Sculpture Exhibit, Chicago, IL – 2017 (Group Exhibition: Year of Public Art)
Koehline Museum of Art, Oakton Community College, IL – 2017
(Group Exhibition: The Sedgwick Studio: Sculpting Below the Train)
Oak Park Art League, Oak Park, IL – 2017 (Group Exhibition: Artist Member Exhibition)
Oak Park Art League, Oak Park, IL – 2017 (Group Exhibition: Abstract Aesthetics)
Oak Park Art League, Oak Park, IL – 2017 (Group Exhibition: Digital Daydreams)
Sullivan Galleries, SAIC – 2015 (Group Exhibition: BFA Exhibition)
Fat City, Chicago, IL – 2014 (Group Exhibition)