Korean artist-exhibition
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| ▲ Artist Lee Kang-so poses for photos during a press event at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul on Oct. 31, 2024. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Lee Kang-so's artwork is on display at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul on Oct. 31, 2024. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Lee Soo-yeon, the curator of Lee Kang-so's exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul, explains one of the artist's paintings on Oct. 31, 2024. (Yonhap) |
Korean artist-exhibition
Lee Kang-so's lifelong artistic inquiry into perception to be shown at MMCA
By Woo Jae-yeon
SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- Korea's renowned experimental artist Lee Kang-so has spent his life exploring two fundamental questions: "What am I looking at?" and "What is the nature of what the viewer and I see?"
The large-scale exhibition "Where the Wind Meets the Water," opening Friday at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul, invites viewers into his lifelong journey of inquiry. Showcasing around 100 pieces, the exhibition spans various mediums, including painting, print, sculpture, video and photography.
"Many terms describe the artist, such as experimental spirit, innovator and art activist," MMCA Director Kim Sung-hee said at a press briefing on the exhibition. "This exhibition offers an opportunity to appreciate his oeuvre, consistently centered on the theme that making art is a form of communication and participation."
His experiments began in the 1970s. In the "Canvas" series, the artist intentionally unraveled threads from the canvas, observing how an ordinary object transforms into a work of art, prompting reflection on the role and limitations of the artist.
In his "Painting" video series, Lee filmed himself either painting his own body or wiping paint away, creating a paradoxical performance that illustrates how painting can, in fact, erase the artist's presence.
In his figurative painting series from the 1980s, best known for its abstract depictions of ducks and deer, Lee's questioning of the artist's role deepened.
Growing skeptical of how artwork is typically presented to viewers as the artist intended, he began intentionally creating "incomplete" works, leaving space for viewers to interpret and complete the pieces themselves.
"When I create my artwork, I hold back expression," the artist said during the briefing. "This way, viewers can draw on their own imagination and personal experiences to appreciate my work in their own unique way."
The artist is also known for a series of works that show his deep skepticism of reality.
In his 1975 work "Untitled," he juxtaposes broken stones with their pre-fractured images in a photograph, print and painting, suggesting that our perception of reality exists only in our minds. The artist explored how even the simple word "stone" can trigger vastly different images and perceptions in each viewer's mind.
Born in 1943, he graduated from the Painting Department at Seoul National University. In the 1980s, he taught at Gyeongsang National University in Jinju, some 280 kilometers south of Seoul. He also spent time in New York as a visiting artist at the Fine Arts Department of the State University of New York and participated in an international exchange program at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) for two years in the early 1990s.
Lee Soo-yeon, the curator of the exhibition who unearthed around 2,000 archival materials, said her own interpretation of Lee's lifelong artwork boils down to his consistency.
"While his artistic mediums have changed over time with various experiments, he has maintained the same questions and artistic attitude throughout his entire life," she said, referencing Lee's remarks after participating in the 1975 Paris Biennale. The artist said at that time art should present open structures and invisible orders or relationships to viewers in the most natural way possible.
"This message has persisted through his artwork up to the present day. ... I wanted to convey it in the exhibition," the curator said.
"Where the Wind Meets the Water" runs through April 13.
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