Yongjae Lee Shin-seon (immortal), 2026 Oil, nail on canvas, oblique frame
57 x 27 x 6.5 cm
22 1/2 x 10 3/4 x 2 5/8 inches

Depicting the face of an immortal (sinseon), the work takes its point of departure from the image of a scholar reading a book in an ink-wash painting by the late Joseon Dynasty painter Yu Suk.

Lee discovers in Yu Suk’s scholar the archetypal face of an immortal, one that unifies the essential features of sinseon across various Taoist and Buddhist figure paintings such as depictions of Bodhidharma, Liu Hai, and immortals crossing the sea. Envisioning the sinseon that Yu Suk himself might have referenced, the artist erases the scholar’s specific features, leaving behind only the immortal’s gaze.

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