Meet Woohee Cho | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Woohee Cho and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Woohee, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Art, to me, is an weird vessel for challenging societal norms and a lumpy tool for creating some cracks for critical conversations. As an artist, I’ve come to view risk-taking as an integral part of my creative journey. Art-making is an act of challenge—a willingness to venture into the unknown, defy expectations, and express vulnerability. Art has the capability to question, critique, and comment on culture. For me, this process of questioning is inherently risky—it involves stepping outside the comfort zone and daring to explore unknown domains.
As a visual artist, I often talk about personal memories and traumas in my work. These experiences are deeply intimate and vulnerable. Transforming them into art requires challenge—the risk lies in exposing my innermost self to the world. Yet, it’s precisely this vulnerability that connects with viewers on a deep level.
Art isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a catalyst for dialogue. By addressing pressing issues, art invites viewers to engage in conversations. These dialogues—sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes transformative—unfold in the space created by risk-taking.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art practice is deeply informed by my personal experiences as a gay Korean man grappling with questions of identity and belonging. Growing up in a conservative religious household, I struggled to reconcile my sexuality with the expectations of my family and society at large, which led me to explore and subvert patriarchal, heterosexual norms in Korean culture through my artmaking.

Gathering text and data found in my daily surroundings, I create videos, installations and performances that highlight the ways in which dominant cultural narratives shape our perceptions of self and others. In the “NSFW” project as an example, I explore the tension between racial identity and gay dating culture, and aim to create a space for audiences to acknowledge intersectionality and question their own self-perception. To bring this, I gathered dick pictures from gay dating apps for two years when I received it without any consensual conversations between us. In the ongoing project “Donors’ Wall” as another example, I write down the date, time, and their name every time people bless me after sneezing. Data found in my daily surroundings are accumulated through certain time, which become my own diaristic language.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would definitely go hiking and have Korean meals after. My favorite hiking spots are Los Leones Canyon nearby Topanga where you can have a nice pacific ocean view with fresh breeze. I also love hiking at Eaton Canyon Falls near Altadena, where you can hike in the valley and there’s a cute water fall in the end. After hiking, I’d delve into my soul foods in Miari Noodle House in Koreatown. It has the best and gigantic noodles and veggie mixed rice. Just by thinking of it while writing it makes me so happy.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Fortunately, I’ve had the privilege of crossing paths with numerous folks throughout my life who help me and shape me who I am today. While it’s impossible to mention them all, there’s one person who stands out–Shirley Tse. She makes amazing conceptual scuptures and teaches critical classes at CalArts. My time working with Shirley at CalArts significantly influenced my artistic journey and even transformed my approach to life itself. Her teaching methods are intriguing, particularly her class titled “Artist As Traveler.” In this unique course, students accompany Shirley step by step through the process of creating a body of work for the Hong Kong pavilion at the Venice Biennale—from initial research to the final exhibit. It’s like a comprehensive A-to-Z guide on art-making and the life of an artist. One profound lesson I gleaned from Shirley’s class was this: “Comparing yourself to others is the gateway to unhappiness.” It’s a simple yet powerful reminder. It’s crucial to celebrate our individuality rather than measuring ourselves against others.

Website: https://www.wooheecho.com/

Instagram: @woohee_cho

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/woohee-cho-47074915a/

Image Credits
Photo 1-4 by Jang Hwal Lim Photo 5 by Erika Fujyama Photo 6 by Karlis Bergs Photo 7-8 by Woohee Cho