162 - Seund Ja Rhee (1918–2009)

Seund Ja Rhee (1918–2009) Composition Oil on canvas, signed and dated “61” in the lower right corner. 60 x 30 cm. Seund Ja Rhee (1918–2009) was a South Korean painter, printmaker, and ceramicist, and a major figure in modern art and the artistic dialogue between East and West.Born in 1918, she moved to Paris in 1951 amid the war tearing her homeland apart. There, she built a unique body of work, gradually developing an abstract language that blends geometric forms, vibrant colors, and references to her origins. Her work, infused with spirituality and symbolism, explores the connections between nature, the earth, and the cosmos. Deeply attached to the south of France, she established a studio in Tourrettes-sur-Loup, in the Alpes-Maritimes, which she named La Voie lactée. In this Mediterranean setting, bathed in light and surrounded by landscapes, she continued her artistic explorations and found a special place for creation and renewal. She passed away in Vence in 2009. Her work is now internationally recognized and is featured in the collections of the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, the Musée Cernuschi, and the Musée Magnelli, the ceramics museum in Vallauris. PROVENANCE French private collection, purchased directly from the artist before 1970. We thank the Seund Ja Rhee Foundation, which will now include this work in its archives