Lee Bul, Sculptor of Failed Utopias, Joins Hauser & Wirth

Lee Bul b. 1964, South Korea Follow +

Acclaimed South Korean artist Lee Bul is bringing her ‘provocative, genre-defying art’ to mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth, who will in turn bring her work to Art Basel Hong Kong next week and to New York next year.

Co-representing her with Seoul-based gallery BB&M, the Swiss establishment will share the 61-year-old artist’s work interrogating ‘utopian ideals, technological transformation, and the fragility of human ambition’ as she leaves long-time dealers Thaddaeus Ropac and Lehmann Maupin.

Hauser & Wirth President Marc Payot called Lee ‘the foremost Korean artist of her generation’ with work that continues to evolve in ‘fascinating directions’ and noted her admiration for the gallery’s programme and rostered artists, including Phyllida Barlow and Louise Bourgeois.

’[Lee] is seen as a pioneer by younger generations of artists,’ he said.

Lee’s work is known for including distorted female anatomy and cyborg imagery to investigate ideas of utopian idealism and the body’s relationship to technology. Famous works of hers have spanned performances with the artist suspended naked from the ceiling while discussing abortion (Abortion, 1989) and all-encompassing architectural structures influenced by literature and history, envisioning utopian and dystopian ambitions.

Lee gained international prominence in the 1990s with works like Majestic Splendor (1991), an embellished raw fish exhibited at New York‘s Museum of Modern Art in 1997 which was quickly removed because of the stench.

In 2024, Lee was commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art to create sculptures for the niches of its Fifth Avenue facade (on view until 10 June 2025).

In September, the artist will open a major survey at Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, which will travel to M+ in Hong Kong in March 2026, followed by other international venues. —[O]

Main image: Lee Bul. Courtesy © Lee Bul. Photo: Yoon Hyung-moon.