Noah Ryu (b.1984) works with themes of finite state of a body in contrast to infinite contingency of the time. Ryu, starting from his personal experiences, conveys narratives by continuously contrasting human with nature and artwork to demonstrate how vulnerable the human bodies are. The artist applies delicate and exquisite characteristics of Eastern painting to create crakes and stains on the surface – usually borrowing from ancient artifacts or religious symbols – to intentionally construct a sense of flowing time. On the other hand, Ryu overlays industrial byproducts such as people with modernized clothing, telegraph pole, or railways to the space of history; also, he juxtaposes his own collection of contemporary landscapes with outdated icons to deliberately disturb the sense of time in the paintings.

After graduating with same major at the same university, Ryu is now a candidate in Korean Painting at Seoul National University. He also did residencies in Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Leipzig International Art Programme in Leipzig, Germany. Ryu received an award for 2013 ChongKun Dang Art Award and 2016 Buning Brongers Prijzen in Netherlands.

Starting from a solo exhibition at Brain Factory in 2010, Ryu held number of solo exhibitions: Salon de H, Seoul (2018); c-o-m-p-o-s-i-t-e, Brussels (2016); A-Lounge, Seoul (2022). Also, he has been actively participating in exhibitions such as Spectators, Doosan Gallery, Seoul (2014); the second ChongKun Dang Art Awards Exhibition, Gana Insa Art Center, Seoul (2014); The Time of Painting, Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul (2019); Lusus Naturae, BcmA, Berlin (2021); and Bring to Light, Prompt Project, Seoul (2023).