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Lee Kit

LEE KIT

'We used to be more sensitive' ShugoArts
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art 16 September–24 December 2018
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Press Release

This autumn, the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art will present Lee Kit ‘We used to be more sensitive.,’ the first exhibition to be held at a Japanese museum by the Hong Kong-born and Taipei-based artist. Born in 1978, Lee Kit creates works that constantly explore the expressive potential of painting. These include a series of hand-painted cloth paintings that he created early in his career. Lee took ordinary pieces of fabric and painted them with checkered patterns and other designs. They were then used as tablecloths, curtains, sheets and for other purposes. By being simultaneously everyday objects and abstract paintings, Lee allowed each cloth to be seen as a ‘representational painting’ of a cloth with the functionality of a tablecloth, etc., thereby radically expanding the concept of a ‘painting.’ Later, in 2013, Lee was chosen to represent Hong Kong at the 55th Venice Biennale where he presented an exhibition that occupied space both inside and outside of the Hong Kong pavilion. Lee attracted much international attention and was included by The Wall Street Journal as one of ‘five artists to watch.’

In recent years, as seen in his exhibitions at the Shiseido Gallery (2015) and ShugoArts (2017), Lee has been focusing on installations in which he incorporates a wide range of media such as drawing, painting, projected light, video, furniture and everyday objects, treating the entire exhibition space as if it were a painting created in muted colours.

It has been 20 years since Hong Kong’s return to China. Against the backdrop of the city’s political, economic and cultural uncertainties, Lee has never stopped questioning himself through the medium that is art. For each of his exhibitions held till now, he has quietly insinuated himself into the atmosphere and feeling of the city and place where it is held to create works that are extremely site-specific and that resonate with the people who see them. In that sense, the Hara Museum presents Lee with an ideal space with which to work, in both the temporal and spatial sense, given its original existence as a personal residence, it’s survival during WWII, its subsequent conversion into a museum following its occupation by GHQ and its 40 years of history since.

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About the Artist

1978 Born in Hong Kong. Currently based in Taipei, Lee has taken part in residency programs in Asia, the U.S., and Europe, and continues to show his work at museums, galleries, and art spaces. Selected exhibitions: We used to be more sensitive., Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (2018); The Enormous Space, OCAT, Shenzhen, China (2018); Not untitled, ShugoArts, Tokyo (2017); A small sound in your head, S.M.A.K, Ghent (2016); Hold your breath, dance slowly, The Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis, USA (2016); The voice behind me, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo (2015); You (you)., the 55th Venice Biennale (2013).

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About the Gallery

ShugoArts, established by Shugo Satani in 2000, values its locality, selects its artists regardless of their time and place, and sends out its activities from Tokyo.

Today, it has gotten much easier to appreciate various artworks of all times and places and their meanings, as well as spaces exhibiting artworks, need to be redefined, including contemporary art galleries. ShugoArts prioritises how to realise artists’ own growth as artists or make the most of their accomplishments. In order to nurture their abilities and possibilities, we provide our space for artists to express themselves freely and follow their artistic journeys side by side. Under any circumstances, our mission is to work and grow together with artists who ceaselessly create artworks, which shine a light on life and give it validation.

ShugoArts holds about 7 exhibitions a year and participates in national and international art fairs while simultaneously managing commissions for public spaces and organising performance and talk events. In addition, we also would like to be a part of art histories at large by creating invaluable archives and assisting art institutions.

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Address
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
Opening Hours
Tuesday – Saturday
12pm – 6pm
(1)
Tokyo Complex 665 2F, 6-5-24, Roppongi Minato-ku
ShugoArts contemporary art gallery in Tokyo Japan
ShugoArts
Complex 665 2F, 6-5-24, Roppongi Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
+81 364 472 234
http://www.shugoarts.com

Opening hours
Tuesday – Saturday
12pm – 6pm
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