Sung-Pil Chae paints on tilted canvases, allowing paint to ripple like a restless sea or leaves fluttering in the wind. At times, drops fall and flow like the start of a storm, forming delicate streams across dusty surfaces.
His work is both figurative and abstract, metaphorical and literal. He paints the earth—literally—with pulverized clays from various continents, mixed with pigment and binder. Light reflects off the surface thanks to the use of gold, silver, or pearl powder. His recent series of blue paintings evokes the sky or a watery matrix—earth transformed into air or fluid.
After gaining recognition with his series on “earth,” he now presents his “blue period,” exploring the elemental connection between water and earth.
His work is shown in major galleries such as Opera (New York, Seoul, Dubai), Jean Brolly, Baudoin Lebon, and Shchukin in Paris. His paintings are held in notable public and museum collections across Europe, Asia, and the U.S.—including the Hôtel de Ville de Paris, the Cernuschi Museum, BNP, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Seoul Museum of Art.
He regularly participates in international art fairs: BRAFA, Art Brussels, Art Paris, Art Central (Hong Kong), KIAF (Seoul), London Art Fair, Art15, Art Karlsruhe, Miami Scope, and the Chicago Art Fair.