Early Life
Before the fabric houses, there was a real one: a traditional Korean home in Seoul, built by an artist father.
Growing up among artists
Do Ho Suh was born in Seoul in 1962. His father, Suh Se-ok, was one of the best-known Korean ink painters of his generation, admired for simple, modern brushwork that came out of a very old tradition.
His mother, Min-Za Chung, helped found a nonprofit that works to preserve traditional Korean culture. Between them, Suh grew up surrounded by art and a strong sense of where his family came from.
A house worth remembering
His father built the family a traditional Korean house, a hanok, partly modeled on a building at Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul.
This is the first house Suh recreated in fabric. When he later moved far away, it became his picture of what “home” meant, and something he wanted to bring along.