Seong Cho - Earth Myth

Seong Cho, Earth Myth I, multicoloured woodblock print, 120 x 120 cm
$5500

Seong Cho

Earth Myth

7 February – 7 March 2026

Art Atrium 48 is proud to present Earth Myth, a series of woodcut prints by Korean-born Australian artist Seong Cho, developed during and inspired by artist residencies in Italy and Greece in 2025. The works explore stories embedded in nature, which echo through time and intertwine with human creation. Surrounded by layers of archaeology, history, culture, tradition and modernity, Cho reflects on how earth’s elements shape landscapes and how human hands build civilisations. Drawing on ancient archaeology, Renaissance architecture, the contemporary world, and her own East Asian cultural heritage, the series examines cultural identity and our search for meaning through the stories of the past. 

Cho combines contemporary abstraction with traditional East Asian materials and methods to create distinctive woodblock prints on paper. Her work emulates natural forces; wind-carved lines, shifting light, rippling water and twisting trees, using abstract forms that move beyond realism, narrative and language. Rather than illustrating specific myths or places, the prints suggest how memory and cultural knowledge feel, shift, evolve and erode, inviting viewers into a meditative space to reflect on identity, existence, time and emotion. 

Cho’s practice begins in direct engagement with nature: she makes her own brushes from sticks and leaves, carves each woodblock by hand, and prints using natural pigments on traditional Korean handmade mulberry paper. By combining Renaissance rhythm with East Asian techniques, Earth Myth connects Cho’s cross-cultural lived experience with an abstract visual language grounded in material, memory and place. 

Exhibition Opening

Exhibition Opening to be launched by:
Dr. Sunmin Yoon
Director of the Korean Cultural Centre AU

Saturday 7 February 2026
2:00 - 4:00 pm

About the Artist

Seong Cho is a Korean-born Australian artist whose five-decade practice spans sculpture, drawing, painting, installation. For the past decade, her practice has focused on woodblock printmaking. Grounded in abstraction, her work draws deeply from nature, inviting viewers into rhapsodic, contemplative spaces that evoke a Zen-like state of mind. 

Cho works with traditional East Asian printmaking methods, hand-printing on Korean mulberry paper using natural pigments. Her abstract prints are characterised by bold, brushstroke-like marks that create movement, depth and spaciousness. The unexpected rhythms of her works reflect both the unpredictability of nature and the uncertainty of lived experience. 

Cho has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally, with works selected for major printmaking prizes including the Fremantle Print Award, Burnie Print Prize and Gosford Art Prize. She has presented solo and group exhibitions in Australia, the UK, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. Her work has been published by Cambridge University Press and Print Australia. 

Cho has undertaken artist residencies in Italy, Spain, Greece and Japan, which continue to inform her evolving exploration of abstraction, nature and cultural identity. She lives and works in Sydney and is a long-standing member of the Sydney Printmakers. 

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