Seung Yul Oh has created an instantly recognisable and idiosyncratic practice combining elements of East Asian popular culture with ironic references to high Western art history.

Oh’s sculptural practice has long sustained an intense dialogue between artist and material. Some have offered an unnerving impression of being close to toppling, unexpectedly immersed their viewer in vibrant colour, or prompted deeper readings of childhood items. Offering a cryptic gesture of emotion with its arms outspread and head raised, Pou Sto is the latest in an ongoing body of anthropomorphic sculptures. Depictions of animals have been included in visual art since the beginning of time and are often thought of as the stuff of childhood. However, Oh approaches this whimsical territory slyly, presenting supersized mice perched on their hind legs into signifiers of something more.

Running parallel to his playful sculptures is Oh’s painting, a formal and often minimalist practice. This body of work often highlights the margins, extending audiences’ focus to the edges, or periphery, of the canvas and offering skilful distortions of perspective and balance.