sean hur
As an artist, I am obsessed with details.
I combine photography, drawing, found textures, and sound to recreate the intensity of becoming absorbed in a subject.
about
Hi, I’m Sean Hur, a student at St. Paul’s School. I’m passionate about art, marine biology, and hairdressing.
My interest in marine life has led me to research sustainable fisheries, aquatic ecosystems, and the endangered Bahamian queen conch. I have also participated in marine biology fieldwork in the Bahamas and presented my research at academic conferences.
As an artist, I work across painting, photography, drawing, ceramics, and sculpture, often exploring nature, biology, and environmental change. My work has been recognized by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the Discover FAA High School Competition, the UWEE Louvre International Art Exhibition, and the MPED International Art & Design Awards. I have also exhibited work in Seoul, Paris, and Germany, and received a Scholastic National Gold Medal for my painting Echoes of a Submerged World.
Beyond art and marine biology, I started a salon at school, where I combine my interest in hairdressing with my desire to help others express their individuality.
Awards & competitions
Vocalarium
Silver Key
Opabinia
Selected
Blue Afterlife
Finalist
Memories in Chroma
Accepted
Blue Afterlife
Accepted
portfolio
Click each image for more details
activities
Waves of Serenity
Height : 21.8 in
Width : 28.1 in
Materials : Acrylic paint, oil pastel on paper.
Process : Crumpled paper forms arranged, then acrylic applied over pencil sketch.
Description : “Waves of Serenity” captures the tranquil yet dynamic interplay between humanity and nature. The flowing waves and golden fish evoke a sense of calm and balance, symbolizing harmony within the ever-changing currents of life.
Echoes of a Submerged World
🏆 2024-2025 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Painting - National Award Gold Medal
Height : 14.3 in
Width : 20.3 in
Materials : Gouache, colored pencil on paper board.
Process : After researching species, created habitat through detailed drawing with gouache and colored pencil.
Description : This artwork portrays a future where marine life flourishes alongside remnants of human civilization, reflecting nature’s resilience and humanity’s lasting impact.
Wildlife Graveyard
🏆 2024 The UWEE Louvre International Art Exhibition - Honorable Mention
-2024, LOUVRE MUSEUM, CARROUSEL DU LOUVRE, Paris, France, The UWEE Louvre International Art Exhibition
🏆 2023-2024 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Painting - Gold Key
🏆 The 43rd Korea Daily Student Art & Video Contest - Honorable Mention
🏆 2026 Art & Love International Art Competition - Gold Prize
Height : 20 in
Width : 29.5 in
Materials : Acrylic paint, oil pastel, colored pencil on paper board.
Process : Focused on finalizing texture using colored pencil, acrylic, and oil paint.
Description : “Wildlife Graveyard” vividly depicts a devastated landscape marked by severed tree stumps and deceased animals with hollow, vacant eyes. By presenting an exaggerated and unsettling vision of environmental destruction, the work imagines a bleak future that humanity might face if it continues to neglect its responsibility to protect nature.
Surgical Tools / Operation
🏆 2024 MPED International Art&Design Awards - (Operation) - 4th Octa Award
Height : 15 in
Width : 20 in
Materials : Acrylic paint on canvas
Process : Practiced textures with marker/colored pencil, then rendered animal skin and tool surfaces in acrylic.
Description : This work captures surgical tools used in life-saving operations, arranged on top of animal skin. By juxtaposing the lifeless animal skin with instruments designed to save lives, the work creates a disturbing tension between life and death. This ironic contrast suggests a future in which efforts to save wildlife become futile, emphasizing the urgency of acting before it is too late.
Fragments of a Lost Future
Height : 20.4 in
Width : 10.2 in
Materials : Mixed media (cement, glass, acrylic paint) on wood panel.
Process : Painted glass texture with acrylic, then attached real glass shards.
Description : This artwork envisions a world where climate change and environmental destruction have confined humanity to observing nature through artificial constructs. The crystalline, glass-like fish symbolizes a future where the beauty of wildlife exists only as fragile remnants behind barriers, urging reflection on the urgent need for preservation today.
Cheetahs
Height : 11.6 in
Width : 8.2 in
Materials : Marker, colored pencil, pen on paper board, Procreate.
Process : Reworked packaging text and design, then refined color and detail for a critical, message-driven piece.
Description : “Cheetahs” reimagines a chip package by making subtle yet impactful changes to familiar advertising catch phrases. By utilizing an everyday mass-produced consumer good, the work highlights that environmental destruction is no longer a distant possibility but an issue already intertwined with daily life.
Cheers
Height : 29.5 in
Width : 20 in
Materials : Acrylic paint, colored pencil, oil pastel on paper board.
Process : Through acrylic paint and colored pencil, finalized details to the wine glasses and spilled wine.
Description : “Cheers” juxtaposes cut tree trunks with people drinking wine in front of them. The dynamic depiction of spilled wine symbolizes humanity’s greed, while the contrast between celebration and environmental destruction serves as a sarcastic visualization of humanity’s indifference toward nature.
Melting Time
🏆 2024 Genius Olympiad - Finalist
Height : 22 in
Width : 16.5 in
Materials : Marker, colored pencil on paper board, Adobe Photoshop.
Process : Practiced melting textures, then developed into a climate-themed final poster composition.
Description : The work portrays both the Earth and humanity through a melting, viscous texture, highlighting the urgency of the issue. The incorporation of text and an hourglass further reinforces the need for immediate action.
The Glassmaker
Height : 30 in
Width : 20 in
Materials : Oil paint, oil pastel on paper board.
Process : Developed form and lighting, then refined flame, glass, and foliage textures for expressive detail.
Description : “The Glassmaker” envisions a future in which the last surviving, yet damaged, human attempts to reignite and restore humanity through glass and fire. The artificial glass textures, an agonized human figure trapped within the glass, and a damaged gray figure collectively portray a grim but resilient future.
Scales of Glass
Height : 8.3 in
Width : 17.3 in
Depth : 8.3 in
Materials : Glass, Wire, Mixed Media
Description : “Scales of Glass” is an abstract reinterpretation of fish and ocean bubbles. By constructing the fish from glass - a material that is both transparent and fragile - the work suggests the vulnerability of the ecosystem threatened by humanity. Encased within a wire framework which simultaneously protects and confines, the work reflects the complex relationship between humanity and nature.
What Remains
Height : 17.7 in
Width : 20 in
Materials : Oil paint, pencil on paper board.
Process : Built form and background with pencil, then refined skull textures and lighting for emphasis.
Description : “What Remains” presents human skulls and a single acorn placed before them. Through the contrast between humanity’s hopeless outlook and nature’s capacity for regeneration, the work underscores the enduring vitality of nature.
everyday life
Height : 18.1 in
Width : 7 in
Depth : 7 in
Materials : Glass
Description : This work symbolizes the harmonious relationship between nature and humans. Wine glasses and leaf-shaped plates capture the transparency and delicacy of nature, and cotton piles shaped like clouds remind us of forests in dreams and imagination. The wine glass represents human life and joy, the leaf plate represents the beauty of nature, and the cloud-like background creates a peaceful atmosphere that embraces all of this. The work goes beyond mere decoration and makes us think once again about the importance of nature and everyday life.
Height : 9.5 in
Width : 7.8 in
Depth : 7.8 in
Height : 9.5 in
Width : 7.8 in
Depth : 7.8 in
Height : 9.84 in
Width : 19.7 in
Depth : 15.7in
Materials : Glass
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