Seo Dong-hee’s 50th Anniversary Exhibition of Contemporary Ceramic Art: A Complete Showcase of New Works Including ‘Tree of Life’

Ceramic artist Seo Dong-hee, emeritus professor at Konkuk University, who has been shaping the words of the Bible in clay, resumed the second installment of the “Tree of Life” exhibition on the 12th, marking the 50th anniversary of her Contemporary Ceramic Art career (1975–2025), which first opened last October.
Held at the Bible Ceramic Art Museum in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, the ongoing exhibition offers a look into the world of the “Tree of Life,” which has been the wellspring of Seo Dong-hee’s ceramic art. Visitors can appreciate the fifth “Tree of Life,” created last year, along with new works completed in 2025.
Since first unveiling a work titled “Tree of Life” at a solo exhibition at 221 Gallery in New York City in 2004, Seo has continued to present works under the same title at the 2005 invitational exhibition at TONG-IN Gallery in the United States, at TONG-IN Gallery in Seoul, and at exhibitions at the Bible Ceramic Art Museum in 2023–2024.


“The ‘Tree of Life’ presented in this exhibition is the fifth work I have created under the same title,” Seo said, adding, “This piece embodies the message of moving toward eternal life, a gift from the Creator God, and visualizes the words from the Book of Revelation chapter 22 and Genesis chapter 3.”
The exhibition also features recent works created last year, including “Adam and Eve,” “The Star from the East,” “Manger,” and “River of Living Water.” As with Seo’s other works, all of these pieces are inspired by the Bible: “Adam and Eve” is based on Genesis, “The Star from the East” on the Gospel of Matthew, “Manger” on the Gospel of Luke, and “River of Living Water” on the Gospel of John.
jsm64@fnnews.com Jeong Soon-min Reporter