Meet Sangho Han

We were lucky to catch up with Sangho Han recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sangho, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

Lately, I’ve been living with a deep sense of uncertainty, as though I’ve lost my way and am simply enduring each day. Paradoxically, it is this very hardship that fuels and sustains my creativity. I still want to paint, yet at some point I realized I had lost direction—and in that realization, I chose not to blame myself or others. To me, making art is ultimately a privilege, and in letting go of that privilege, I discovered a different kind of strength that allows me to move forward. Even though the feeling of resignation remains, time continues to pass, carrying me along and supporting me in unexpected ways. Above all, I’m truly thankful for this interview opportunity, which allows me to speak and reflect in the midst of such vague and difficult times.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a visual artist who has been devoted to painting and installation for the past 20 years. Through my BFA and MFA studies, I built a strong foundation, and since then I have continued to grow my practice through various residencies, exhibitions, and consistent studio work. Being part of different communities has been a constant source of energy and dialogue for me, and more recently I find myself deeply inspired by outsider artists, whose raw creativity and resilience continually expand my perspective.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Living and working in New York has been a complex journey that continues to shape me. One of the most impactful qualities in my path has been the ability to turn even difficult or confusing experiences into part of my practice. This openness—accepting things as they are—has helped me develop both my life skills and my artistic language.

For those at an early stage, I believe one of the most important lessons is to keep a part of your mind open and uncluttered, to let things flow as they come, and to respond thoughtfully when the time is right. Beyond that, I have found it essential to maintain balance through reading, physical activity, and nurturing healthy relationships. Financial challenges are also inevitable, and learning how to face and deal with them in your own way is a crucial skill.

My advice is simple: don’t try to control everything. Instead, allow the complexity of your experiences to transform you, and trust that even the hardest moments can eventually become part of your growth.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Several books have deeply influenced the way I see the world at different stages of my life. In my teenage years, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Haruki Murakami’s novels and essays shaped much of my imagination and sensibility—they accompanied me throughout my adolescence. After getting married, I found myself turning often to the short stories of Raymond Carver and Franz Kafka, as well as the novels of Natsume Sōseki.

What connects these writers for me is not only their literary style but also the way they reveal how many perspectives, stories, and contradictions exist in the world. Through them, I came to realize that life is full of situations that cannot easily be defined or resolved. Often I have failed, and then had to look again, to reconsider, and to accept the uncertainty. In this sense, these books have helped me grow—not by providing clear answers, but by reminding me that maturity comes from learning to live within complexity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sanghohanart.com
• Instagram: sanghohanart

Image Credits

sangho han