'Emosculpture' artist Huh Hwe-tae holds 27th solo exhibition in Insadong

Artist Huh Hwe-tae’s solo exhibition “Huh Hwe-Tae: The Path of Flowers I Found” kicks off Wednesday at Gallery Is in Insadong, Seoul. Huh claims to be the inventor of the art style known as “emography,” a portmanteau of the words "emotion" and "calligraphy."

The term “emography” itself was coined by Ryu Young-hak, an art critic and independent curator based in Seoul, after viewing Huh’s calligraphic works in Germany in 2016, according to the artist.

Born in 1957, Huh won the top prize at the National Calligraphy Contest at age 15, becoming a child prodigy in calligraphy. In 1995, he was awarded the grand prize at the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea.

Over the years, Huh has explored sculpture to reinterpret his calligraphy in a contemporary way. Choosing Styrofoam and "hanji," traditional Korean mulberry paper, as his main materials, Huh transformed his calligraphic writings into three dimensional pieces. The artist refers to his sculptures as “emosculptures,” meaning “sculptures that arouse emotion.”

Huh’s 27th solo exhibition will show 30 works created over the past two years, including the new series “The Path of Flowers I Found.” Each sculpture in the series comprises the artist’s calligraphic writings about his philosophy and daily thoughts. The work “Flower Path I Have Found IV” consists of more than 30,000 pieces, measuring 1.6 meters wide and 1.3 meters tall.

The exhibition runs through Monday.