Si On

Si On’s multidisciplinary practice unfolds through an intuitive, daily process of creation, encompassing painting, sculpture, and installation. Her works are built up through a process of repetitive material layering, combining traditional techniques with an eclectic range of found objects and unconventional media.

Within these richly textured compositions, Si On’s characters exist in vibrantly hypnotic landscapes that mirror their protagonists’ transcendent states. Despite the otherworldly aesthetic of her work, Si On’s subjects are universal human emotions, often focusing on extreme psychological states and their underlying triggers: personal trauma, sociocultural tension and political unrest. Her hallucinant world is characterised by methodically balanced forces: innocence invaded by darkness; decay held at bay by beauty; brutality countered by primitive justice; and pain overcome by humour. Through this tense equilibrium, Si On visualises the way in which, in her own words: “Life experiences shape our identities, as we carry memories, hopes, scars, and traumas that accumulate over time, revealing the complex aspects of our humanity.”

Si On (b.1979, South Korea) lives and works in Krakow, Poland, after having lived in Japan and New York City. She received her BA from Mokwon University in South Korea and her MA and Ph.D. at Kyoto City University of Arts’ Graduate School of Arts. Recent solo exhibitions include Edel Assanti, London, UK (2025); GGM2, Gdańsk, Poland (2025); Mazowieckie Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Elektrownia, Radom, Poland (2025); T293, Rome, Italy (2024); James Fuentes Gallery, New York, USA (2023); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan (2020); Parasol Unit, London, UK (2019); Pioneer Works, New York, USA (2015); HAPS, Kyoto, Japan (2013); Kyoto Art Center, Japan (2011). Recent institutional group exhibitions include Palazzo delle Albere, Trento, Italy (2024); Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello, Venice, Italy (2022); The Halle Saint-Pierre Museum, Paris, France (2021); Museum of Contemporary Art / Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej, Warsaw, Poland (2019); Carnegie Art Museum, Pittsburgh, USA (2016); Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA (2012) and Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan (2010). Si On’s work is in the permanent collections of Brooklyn Museum, NY; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto; Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto; Kyoto Bank, Kyoto; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Museum of Contemporary Art, Krakow, amongst others.