Kyuhak Lee

Works

Overview

Kyu-Hak Lee: The one-of-a-kind artist who uses unconventional materials to recreate iconic works from art history as a social commentary on consumerism and millennial values.

Kyu-Hak Lee is a South Korean artist who has gained recognition for his unique mixed-media mosaics that recreate and reimagine iconic works from art history, particularly those of Van Gogh. Lee uses Polystyrene or Styrofoam strips as the building blocks of his assemblages, wrapping them with magazine and newspaper, and then covering them with a layer of hanji, a traditional handmade Korean paper. His unconventional approach is a social commentary on consumerism and the intrinsic values of the millennial era.

Lee holds a Master of Fine Arts from Chung-Ang University and has exhibited in major cities around the world, including Miami, Seoul, Paris, Zürich, and Frankfurt. His work can be found in prestigious art collections such as the Boghossian Foundation in Belgium, Busch Co. in Germany, and private collections in Monaco, London, New York, Paris, Miami, Shanghai, Geneva, and Mexico. Lee currently lives and works in Korea.

Biography

Kyu-Hak Lee's mixed-media mosaics masterfully recreate iconic works from art history while questioning the values of modern consumer culture. Utilizing everyday materials as a gesture of upcycling, Lee's unconventional approach is a social commentary on contemporary society and its relationship to tradition and lineage.

Kyu-Hak Lee has devoted his practice to mastering the art of recreating and reimagining iconic works from art history, with a particular affinity for Van Gogh. To do so, Lee uses a unique method of mixed-media mosaic, which involves using Polystyrene or Styrofoam strips as the building blocks of his assemblages, wrapping these strips with magazine and newspaper, and then covering them with a layer of hanji, a traditional handmade Korean paper. These strips are then put together piece by piece to create the final work that is reminiscent of, yet quite distinct from his inspiration.

Lee's unconventional artistic approach is a social commentary on the consumerism of modern civilization, and questions the intrinsic values of the millennial era. Using everyday materials as a gesture of upcycling, Lee utlizes Styrofoam as his base material best represents the vanity of contemporary culture, as it is fragile, flammable, and mostly air while still being non-biodegradable and difficult to dispose of. The translucent hanji wrapped over the layer of magazine and newspaper represents the role of humans in the world through tradition and lineage. And the torn publications represent the ways in which writing is being replaced by other media as a driving force within contemporary society

Born in Gyeongju, South Korea, Kyu-Hak Lee received a Master of Fine Arts from Chung-Ang University, and currently lives and works in Korea. He has since exhibited in Miami, Seoul, Paris, Zürich and Frankfurt, and his work are held in the Boghossian Foundation in Belgium, Busch Co. in Germany, Artist Pension Trust in England, Arteallimite Collection in Chile, and private collections in Monaco, London, New York, Paris, Miami, Shanghai, Geneva and Mexico.

Exhibitions