Artist Commission: Seung Ah Paik

Seung Ah Paik's commissioned work at Rubell Museum explores landscape and abstraction.

Why go

Paik's meticulous depictions of her own skin and body parts—hands, feet, limbs, breasts, torsos—rendered in vivid hues against muted backgrounds, offer an unflinching alternative to filtered beauty standards. The works employ traditional Korean Joseon Dynasty painting techniques to explore identity and embodiment through an uncanny first-person per

What to expect

Large-scale paintings featuring intertwined body parts at contorted angles, rendered with intricate attention to skin texture, veins, and creases. Works are set against deep jewel-tone or stark backgrounds, creating a dreamlike, surreal quality that flattens certain physical realities while highlighting others with precision.

Things to know

• Paik studied Oriental Painting at Seoul National University and earned an MFA in Painting from Goldsmiths in London.
• Her work is in the collections of the Rubell Museum, Miami and Woods Art Institute, Wentorf bei Hamburg, Germany.
• She returned to professional painting after a years-long hiatus, with her comeback show 'Body Cartography' at Gratin gallery in March 2025.
• A concurrent solo exhibition of her work is on view at the Rubell Museum in Miami through fall 2026.
• Her paintings use pigment, rabbit skin size, and glue on calico as materials.
• She lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (https://www.bortolamigallery.com/artists/seungah-paik)

Plan your visit

Tuesday–Saturday, 10 AM–6 PM, and by appointment.