A recent addition to the permanent collection, Do Ho Suh’s 348 West 22nd Street (2011–15) replicates the artist’s ground-floor residence from a single New York building. Created in luminous swaths of translucent polyester, the dreamlike rooms and hallways are supported by stainless steel. In this immersive passageway of conjoined rooms, visitors pass through an ephemeral representation of the artist’s personal history. The corridor, stairs, apartment, and studio are each rendered in a single block of color, with fixtures and appliances replicated in exacting detail. Fusing traditional Korean sewing techniques with digital mapping tools, the maze-like installation of 348 West 22nd Street balances intricate construction with delicate monumentality.
Inspired by his own history of migration, Suh’s ethereal, malleable architecture presents an intimate world both deeply familiar and profoundly estranged. The artist’s works elicit a physical manifestation of memory, exploring ideas of personal history, cultural tradition, and belief systems in the contemporary world. Best known for his full-size fabric reconstructions of places he has lived, including former residences in Seoul, Providence, New York, Berlin, and London, Suh’s creations of physicalized memory address issues of home, displacement, individuality, and collectively, articulated through the architecture of domestic space.
Do Ho Suh: 348 West 22nd Street is currently on view in the Resnick Pavilion.