Photos by Gabby Jones
Sui Park
Bella Abzug Park
2023-2024
Artist Statement
City Ecology by NY-based artist Sui Park is an installation of 32 site-specific sculptures commissioned by the Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance (HYHK) for Bella Abzug Park. For this exhibition, Park gives texture and shape to the colorful stories, dynamic relationships, and complex patterns of connection that she observes within New York City and amongst its residents, and she places those forms within the landscape of a public green space.
The sculptures are carefully constructed using cable ties, an inexpensive and mass-produced industrial material. When woven together, Park creates seemingly organic, biomorphic shapes that both complement and contrast with the natural environment. She arranges them in clusters within Bella Abzug Park. These groupings represent the countless communities and hubs of activity that define high-density urban life and that lend New York City, in particular, its long-standing resilience and beauty.
For Park, nature is a sacred space that allows her to slow down, consider her surroundings, acknowledge her thoughts, and find inspiration. With this exhibition, she captures that sentiment using humble materials and reconstructs them into whimsical forms, awakening one’s senses and encouraging others to connect with their thoughts as well as their surroundings.
About Sui Park
Sui Park is a New York-based artist born in Seoul, Korea. She creates 3-dimensional flexible organic forms with everyday materials that are dynamic, mystical, and whimsical. Park has realized several public art commissions and solo exhibitions, including "Weaving Colors Into Cosmos” at Sapar Contemporary in 2023. She has participated in over 150 exhibitions internationally. Park's artwork has been acquired by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Oregon and the City Harvest Food Rescue Center in Brooklyn, NY. Numerous mentions of her work and projects have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Hyperallergic, Artnet, Vice, and Colossal, among other publications. She is represented by Sapar Contemporary in New York City. Park’s education includes MDes in Interior Architecture at Rhode Island School of Design and BFA in Environmental Design at Maryland Institute College of Art. Park also holds an MFA and BFA in Fiber Arts at Ewha Woman’s University located in Seoul, Korea.
Press
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/art/best-outdoor-art-in-nyc
https://freeyork.org/art/sui-parks-zip-tie-sculptures-a-fusion-of-art-and-nature-in-urban-spaces
https://untappedcities.com/2023/11/01/must-see-art-november-2023/?displayall=true
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/city-ecology-art-exhibit