Resolutely abstract yet culturally specific, the work of Seung-taek Lee draws on the subtle beauty of Korean folk art traditions while aligning itself with contemporaneous developments in earth art, Mono-ha, and post-minimalism. Spanning painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, and performance, often within the same work, Lee's oeuvre has long resisted categorisation by any one movement or group. Notions of negation–which he alternately refers to as 'dematerialisation,' 'anti-concept,' and 'non-sculpture'–structure the theoretical basis his practice, which centres on the transformation of ordinary objects to imbue them with multiple meanings and affects. His art embraces such invisible forces and unorthodox materials as tree branches, wire, stones, human hair, fabric, and rope, elevating the mundane to the level of myth. Published in conjunction with Lévy Gorvy's exhibition of the same name, this fully illustrated catalogue is the first English-language overview of Lee's work and features an interview of the artist by Hans-Ulrich Obrist; an essay by curator and scholar Kyung An; and a specially commissioned poem by Mónica de la Torre.
Publisher: Lévy Gorvy
Texts: Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Kyung An, Mónica de la Torre
Publication Date: 2017
Binding: Hardcover
Dimensions: 9 1/4 x 12 inches (23.5 x 30.5 cm)
Pages: 112
ISBN: 978-1-944379-14-8