BIBLIOGRAPHY
Publications
The work of Song, Burnsoo has been the subject of monographs, exhibition catalogs, and survey publications spanning five decades of practice. Selected titles are listed below.
Only the Young:
Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–1970s
When the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum mounted its first-ever major exhibition of Korean experimental art, it turned to the generation that changed everything and placed Song Burnsoo at its center. This catalog documents the landmark 2023 presentation, featuring his serigraph series Take Cover I through V (1974) and situating his early practice within the AG movement he helped found.
The bold cover lettering draws directly from a poster Song Burnsoo himself designed for an AG exhibition in the early 1970s. Edited by curators Kyung An and Kang Soojung, this Guggenheim volume is now considered a foundational text in the scholarship of modern Korean art.
Available from the Guggenheim Store
In Lieu of Higher Ground
Park Suk Won, Park Jang-Nyun, Song Burnsoo
Hatje Cantz has published over 3,000 titles since 1945 and is one of the most authoritative voices in contemporary art publishing worldwide. This volume brings together three artists whose combined practices map the full ambition of postwar Korean art. Song Burnsoo's textile and printmaking works form the conceptual spine of the book, with critical essays by Lee Kwang-Rae and Yoon Jin Sup tracing his evolution from experimental woodcut to the monumental fiber and thorn compositions that now define his six-decade career.
A landmark publication from a publisher whose catalog has always demanded the highest standard of scholarship and visual presentation.
Available from Hatje Cantz · Amazon · Artbook / D.A.P. · Gallery Baton
Song Burnsoo: Pantomime of 50 Years
(송번수: 50년의 팬터마임)
Korea's National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is the country's foremost institution for the preservation and exhibition of modern art. When MMCA dedicated a full-scale retrospective to Song Burnsoo in 2017, it affirmed his place among the most significant artists in the nation's history.
This bilingual catalog spans 276 pages in both Korean and English, mapping fifty years of practice from the radical printmaking of the AG Group era through his transformation of natural thorns and fiber into sculptural form.
It remains the most comprehensive scholarly record of Song Burnsoo's career and the definitive reference for curators, scholars, and collectors worldwide.
Available from MMCA Art Shop
Korean Eye 2020: Creativity and Daydream
Founded in 2008 by art historian Serenella Ciclitira, Korean Eye has become one of the most influential platforms for presenting Korean contemporary art to international audiences, with landmark exhibitions at the Saatchi Gallery in London, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and major venues across Asia and Europe.
Song Burnsoo's inclusion among the seventy-five artists in this Skira-published volume places his fiber-and-thorn-based practice in direct dialogue with a new generation of Korean artists working across all media.
More than six decades into his career, his work remains as vital, inventive, and central to the story of Korean art as ever.
Available from Artbook / D.A.P.
7th Paris Biennale (7ème Biennale de Paris)
Established in 1959 by André Malraux, the Biennale de Paris was among the most prestigious international exhibitions of its era, dedicated exclusively to artists under the age of 35.
In 1971, Song Burnsoo was selected to represent Korea at the seventh edition, held at the Parc Floral de Paris in the Bois de Vincennes.
The official catalog, published by A. Lerouge at 309 pages, records the moment a young Korean artist first entered the global avant-garde conversation.
It marks the origin point of an international career spanning five continents and more than fifty years. This rare archival volume is held in museum libraries worldwide.
Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction
Phaidon Press has set the global standard for art publishing since 1923, and this volume represents its definitive entry into Korean art scholarship.
Spanning seven decades of upheaval and reinvention, from the 1960s avant-garde through the Gwangju Biennale and the rise of a global Korean art market, the book situates Song Burnsoo within the generation that redefined Korean visual culture under extraordinary political pressure.
Edited by Yeon Shim Chung, Sunjung Kim, Kimberly Chung, and Keith B. Wagner, it provides essential context for understanding how Song Burnsoo's practice emerged from and helped shape the most transformative chapter in Korean art history.
Available from Phaidon Press
Academic & Scholarly
The following selected academic papers, curatorial essays, and institutional references address Song Burnsoo’s practice and its significance within Korean and international art history.
Film & Video
Selected video recordings of Song Burnsoo’s exhibitions, studio practice, and artist interviews.
Artist Interviews
Gallery Baton: YouTube
Two recorded conversations with Song Burnsoo discussing his practice, materials, and five decades of artistic evolution.
Artist Documentary
Gallery Baton: YouTube
Short documentary exploring Song Burnsoo’s practice and studio.
Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–1970s
Guggenheim Museum, 2023
Official video for the landmark Guggenheim exhibition featuring Korean experimental art, including works by Song Burnsoo.
Exhibition Walkthroughs
Gallery Baton: YouTube
Video documentation of Song Burnsoo solo exhibitions at Gallery Baton, offering views of installed works.