Susan Shin

For Susan Shin, colour is more than a subject. It is a place where emotion, memory and imagination begin. A Korean abstract artist based in Hanoi, Susan creates acrylic paintings in which colours flow, meet and transform one another, forming compositions that feel both vibrant and delicate. Her works are expressive, yet they carry a gentle softness, as if each canvas holds a private dream in motion.

Before becoming an artist, Susan studied fashion design and spent ten years designing women’s dresses. That background continues to shape the way she approaches painting. In fashion, she learned to think about beauty through form, proportion and mood. In painting, she gives those instincts greater freedom. Instead of designing around the body, she now creates worlds through colour, texture and atmosphere.

At the heart of Susan’s practice is a love for colour in all its possibilities. She enjoys exploring how different tones mix, soften, brighten or contrast with one another. For her, the process of creating new colours is already part of the artwork. The final painting is not simply an image, but the result of discovery, intuition and play.

Her canvases often carry a warm and dreamlike intensity. Some works are filled with soft pinks, golds and pastel shades, while others move through deeper blues, greens, reds and oranges. Paint drifts, gathers and dissolves across the surface, creating a sense of movement without needing a clear narrative. The viewer is not asked to read the painting in one fixed way, but to feel it.

This openness is central to Susan’s work. She often draws from imagination rather than reality. Her inner world is quiet, tender and closely connected to childhood. It is a place of small happiness, where brightness and warmth can grow from simple feelings. This gives her paintings an emotional honesty. They are joyful, but not loud; decorative, but not empty; dreamy, yet still deeply felt.

Works such as First Love, Shimmering Memories, Fluttering Whispers and Love upon the Waves reveal this sensitivity. Their titles suggest romance, movement and memory, but the paintings remain open enough for each viewer to bring their own emotions to them. A burst of colour may feel like a landscape, a celebration, a passing thought or a moment of tenderness.

Susan is also interested in the relationship between art and space. She believes a single framed painting can change the atmosphere of a room. Her works can brighten an interior, soften its mood or bring a sense of quiet energy to the space. This connection between painting and environment gives her art a refined visual presence, while her intuitive use of colour keeps it personal and alive.

Since 2023, Susan has presented her work through several exhibitions in Hanoi, including SPRING TUNE, FLOW, WHAT’S YOUR COLOR, Fluttering Whispers and Waves of Love. She also collaborated in an art performance with Lecia Bridal at a fashion show hosted by L’Officiel Vietnam, bringing her background in fashion and painting into dialogue.

Through colour, imagination and feeling, Susan Shin creates paintings that invite viewers to slow down and enter a softer world. Beyond the palette, her art becomes a space of warmth, memory and quiet wonder.