1st Place Winning Entry, 2024 Open Competition
John Suh, The Invitation, oil
John Suh
John Suh's beautifully rendered portraits and still lifes are reminiscent of European classic art and American Impressionism, a tribute to the old masters of the 18th century and the 19th century impressionists. Based in Seoul, South Korea, Suh grew up in an artistic family and loved art as a child. "It was the illustrations in American magazines like Reader's Digest that made me want to be an illustrator," he says, "so I could be like my favorite American artists."
John Suh, Luxembourg Garden, oil
As a young man, Suh moved to the United States to study portrait painting attending Hastings College in Nebraska and the National Academy of Fine Arts in Manhattan, as well as the Art Students League of New York under the guidance of renowned artist David Leffel. "Professor Leffel taught me the important basics of classical oil painting including chiaroscuro and visual concepts which gave me a firm foundation in traditional European portrait painting," Suh says. "You can see the influence of his teaching in my still lifes." Later, as Suh studied the works of artists John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, and Joakin Sorolla, he developed a realistic, elegant, yet bold painting style. "I was impressed by the way these artists combined classical art with the beautiful colors of Impressionism."
John Suh, Still Life with Citrus and Grapes , oil
Suh's portraits have been in high demand since the 1980s with his art exhibited widely and included in corporate and private collections worldwide. He taught at the Art Institute of Colorado for several years and always advised his students to be serious about their art. "Constantly draw whatever you see and whatever you imagine in order to develop hand-eye coordination," he would tell them. "This will be a useful artistic tool your whole life."
