Taejin Seong

Educated as a printmaker, Taejin Seong channels his experience making woodblock prints into painted wood carvings that blend historic printmaking with contemporary comic-book art. He carves from a single piece of wood, emphasizing the mark of the artist’s hand on its surface. Inspired by the 1970s cartoon robot “Robot Taekwon V”, the central figure in Seong’s works is associated with and responds to a lost childhood and disillusionment with society, while the text carvings in the background are associated with the dissemination of the written word and the origins of printmaking. Together, Seong’s influences draw a millennia-old art into the 21st century and imbue a more contemporary style with historical significance.