A groundbreaking digital art exhibition featuring the works of renowned Korean dansaekhwa master Park Seo-Bo has opened at Frieze Seoul 2025, utilizing cutting-edge LG OLED technology to bring the late artist's nature-inspired colors to life. The exhibition, titled "Park SeoBo x LG OLED TV: Colors Drawn from Nature," runs through Saturday at Coex in southern Seoul as part of the prestigious international art fair.
Park Seo-bo, who passed away in October 2023, was a pioneering figure in Korean contemporary art and a master of dansaekhwa, an influential art movement that emerged in Korea during the late 1960s. The artist believed that nature communicates through colors that transcend verbal expression, drawing creative inspiration from the natural world around him – from the vibrant orange of ripening persimmons and the fresh green of spring leaves to the profound depth of black soot. His artistic philosophy was deeply rooted in the fundamental principles of repetition, emptiness, and healing.
The exhibition digitally presents Park's iconic "Ecriture" series on LG OLED's advanced digital canvas, showcasing the evolution of his artistic journey from early pencil works created in the 1960s to the vivid, nature-inspired color paintings on hanji (traditional Korean mulberry paper) that he developed in the 2000s. The self-illuminating pixels of LG OLED televisions are particularly well-suited to render the subtle color gradations and deep contrasts that characterize Park's meditative palette, ensuring faithful reproduction of his work on digital screens.
The gallery space creates a compelling dialogue between traditional and digital art forms, with Park's original paintings displayed alongside LG OLED screens where his nature-inspired colors unfold across the digital medium. "We hope LG OLED, with its ability to render deep blacks and vibrant colors with exceptional accuracy, honors the legacy of Park Seo-bo's colors borrowed from nature," stated Kate Oh, head of Experiential Marketing at the LG Media Entertainment Solution Company.
At the heart of the exhibition hall stands a distinctive T-shaped installation featuring LG's latest OLED evo G5 and M5 televisions, presenting a digitally reimagined artwork created by Je Baak, an art professor at Seoul National University. Baak employed artificial intelligence technology to collect various interpretations of autumn-leaf red as perceived by different individuals, then reinterpreted these variations through Park's signature Ecriture methodology, creating a unique fusion of traditional artistic techniques and modern technology.
This collaboration holds special significance as it marks the first major project undertaken by the Parkseobo Foundation since the artist's death. Park Seung-ho, chairperson of the Parkseobo Foundation and son of the late artist, explained the timing and importance of the collaboration during a press conference held Tuesday at the Park Seo-bo Foundation in Seoul. "We have been observing the Korean tradition of jang, a three-year mourning period for one's parents, which is why no solo or retrospective exhibition has been held since my father's passing," he said.
"This collaboration with LG emerged from a shared vision – their exploration of OLED technology's artistic potential and our commitment to presenting my father's art as a source of healing – creating a new dialogue between art and technology," Park Seung-ho added, emphasizing the meaningful intersection of technological innovation and artistic legacy.
LG OLED serves as the official headline partner of Frieze Seoul and has established itself as a significant supporter of Korean artistic heritage through the LG OLED art initiative, operating under the motto "We inspire art." The company's commitment to showcasing Korean masters includes previous collaborations: in 2024, they presented works by the late Seo Se-ok, and in 2023, they exhibited pieces by the late Kim Whan-ki. According to LG, the OLED art initiative has expanded globally, working with more than 40 internationally acclaimed artists, including renowned figures such as Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst, and Kevin McCoy.
The fourth edition of Frieze Seoul officially commenced Wednesday with an exclusive VIP preview and continues through Saturday at Coex in southern Seoul. This year's event, held in conjunction with the Seoul-based art fair Kiaf Seoul, brings together approximately 300 galleries from around the world to the Korean capital annually, establishing Seoul as an increasingly important hub in the international contemporary art scene.
