About
Statement
류 원철 (Wonchul Ryu) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores (mis)translation, cultural displacement, and the fragile nature of memory. Defining himself as a “resident alien” in Baltimore, Ryu examines the experience of existing between spaces—never fully belonging “here” nor entirely “back home.”
In his recent works, Ryu manipulates shipping materials and digital tools— 3D scanning, 3D printing, and Google Translate—to explore his migrant experience in the United States alongside his grandfather’s history of displacement from North to South Korea. He engages with personal and institutional artifacts, reflecting on how objects hold and reveal the psychological weight of dislocation.
Ryu’s sculptures and installations challenge the Euro-American standard of whiteness and critique its cultural implications. The artworks, built from shipping materials and digital replicas, claim spaces between cultures, making the struggles of adaptation and loss visible.
In his recent works, Ryu manipulates shipping materials and digital tools— 3D scanning, 3D printing, and Google Translate—to explore his migrant experience in the United States alongside his grandfather’s history of displacement from North to South Korea. He engages with personal and institutional artifacts, reflecting on how objects hold and reveal the psychological weight of dislocation.
Ryu’s sculptures and installations challenge the Euro-American standard of whiteness and critique its cultural implications. The artworks, built from shipping materials and digital replicas, claim spaces between cultures, making the struggles of adaptation and loss visible.
Bio
Wonchul Ryu (b. Seoul, South Korea) is an interdisciplinary artist working across sculpture, installation, and video. His work explores memory, identity, and cultural translation, often employing shipping materials and digital tools, including 3D scanning and machine translation, to investigate the tensions between visibility and invisibility.
Ryu has exhibited internationally, including a solo exhibition at Yangcheonri Gallery in Seoul, and group exhibitions in Baltimore, Maryland, and Los Angeles, California, including The Walters Art Museum and The Bridge Arts Foundation. He was a 2025 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize Finalist and a recipient of the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship at Yale Norfolk School of Art.
Ryu has exhibited internationally, including a solo exhibition at Yangcheonri Gallery in Seoul, and group exhibitions in Baltimore, Maryland, and Los Angeles, California, including The Walters Art Museum and The Bridge Arts Foundation. He was a 2025 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize Finalist and a recipient of the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship at Yale Norfolk School of Art.
CV
Contact
wonchulryu.dc@gmail.com