SoHyun Bae (b. 1967) is a Korean-American painter living and working in New York. Bae’s practice explores themes of womanhood, cultural memory, Korean history, and Jewish mysticism. Bae uses rice paper, the muted palette of Korean ceramics, and the patterns of bojagi (Korean traditional patchwork wrapping cloth) within her work. Bae holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, an MFA from Boston University, and a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship and grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Much of Bae’s work is influenced by the Jewish mystical concept of Shevirat ha-Kelim, which describes the world as a shattered vessel. Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor, encouraged Bae to study Jewish mysticism and inspired her to join the universal dialogue on the precariousness of life. Through her work, SoHyun Bae honors the fragmented roles, traditions, materials, and faces of her ancestors and herself.

Public Collections

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, Cambridge
Gana Art Center, Seoul
Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg