HWANSUK CHOArtist name: CHO:V
Hwansuk Cho was born in South Korea and has been living in Germany for more than twenty years. He works under the artist name CHO:V.
His painting practice explores how identity is formed through social relationships, collective memory, and societal structures. Transparent inflatable forms, masks, and symbolic surfaces appear as recurring motifs, constituting what he refers to as "Social Skin."
These structures possess a visible form and physical presence while remaining hollow, fragile, and temporary. They appear to offer protection, yet remain vulnerable; they are tangible, yet immaterial. Through this ambiguity, they become metaphors for the unstable relationship between the individual and society, visibility and concealment, belonging and distance.
Drawing from personal experience as well as broader cultural narratives, his work investigates how individuals are observed, perceived, remembered, and made visible within social systems. His paintings examine the intersection of identity, memory, and belonging, questioning how individual presence is shaped, negotiated, and transformed within collective structures.
EDUCATION1999–2003
B.F.A. in Fine Art
Seoul National University of Science and Technology, South Korea
2008–2018
Fine Art Studies under Prof. Daniele Buetti
Kunstakademie Münster, Germany
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS2026
YICCA 2026 — Finalist
2026
Premio Combat Prize — Recommended Artist by the Jury
2025–2026
YICCA 2025–2026 — Finalist
EXHIBITIONS2026
YICCA 2026 Finalists Exhibition
Milan, Italy
2026
YICCA 2025–2026 Finalists Exhibition
Venice, Italy
