Kukje Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Lee Kwang-Ho. This exhibition, his second solo exhibition at Kukje Gallery since 2010,owcases new paintings of the Gotjawal Forest on Jeju Island, depicting winter landscapes. Widely celebrated for his Inter-View and Cactus series, Lee’s new work explores the ever-changing nature of the forest through subtle and tactile application of paint.
The exhibition is composed of landscapes that depict the winter forest and its tangled brambles and knotted brush. The artist has installed the paintings in K1 according to the time of day depicted; the daylight landscapes on the first floor and nighttime landscapes on the second floor. Lee Kwang-Ho captured his scenes of the winter forest by regularly visiting his chosen sites and observing their changes over time. The oil paintings reveal his effort to distill the reality of the forest by using his many unique techniques, including rapid brushstrokes and overlapping touches, and soft smudges as well as incised outlines created by sharply scraping the painted surface. While Lee maintained a certain distance from the subject in his previous Inter-View and Cactus series, in this new work he positions himself directly amongst the tangled vines and branches. In so doing he captures the full atmosphere of the forest rather than isolating any specific elements. This shift in the artist’s position illustrates a progression in his style. Whereas he had previously focused on capturing tactility of the subject’s surface, he has now physically entered the forest and connected with the subject. Because of this change in perspective, viewers encountering Lee’s monumental landscapes experience the work as though they are looking at a forest where they can step inside, a feeling that elicits different images for each viewer while evoking personal emotions.
Born in 1967, Lee Kwang-Ho received his B.F.A. in painting in 1994 from College of Fine Arts, Seoul National University, and an M.F.A. in printmaking in 1999 from the same university. Since 1996, he has participated in numerous solo exhibitions including significant shows at Kukje Gallery and Johyun Gallery. He also participated in more than ninety group exhibitions at various institutions including Seoul National University Museum of Art and Gyeongnam Art Museum in 2013, Saatchi Gallery in London and Jeonbuk Museum of Art in 2012, Seoul Museum of Art and National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung in 2011, Prague Biennale in 2009. His works are included in the collections of National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Gyeonggi Museum of Art, and Jeju Museum of Art. Lee is a professor of Fine Arts at Ewha Womans University, Seoul.
The exhibition is composed of landscapes that depict the winter forest and its tangled brambles and knotted brush. The artist has installed the paintings in K1 according to the time of day depicted; the daylight landscapes on the first floor and nighttime landscapes on the second floor. Lee Kwang-Ho captured his scenes of the winter forest by regularly visiting his chosen sites and observing their changes over time. The oil paintings reveal his effort to distill the reality of the forest by using his many unique techniques, including rapid brushstrokes and overlapping touches, and soft smudges as well as incised outlines created by sharply scraping the painted surface. While Lee maintained a certain distance from the subject in his previous Inter-View and Cactus series, in this new work he positions himself directly amongst the tangled vines and branches. In so doing he captures the full atmosphere of the forest rather than isolating any specific elements. This shift in the artist’s position illustrates a progression in his style. Whereas he had previously focused on capturing tactility of the subject’s surface, he has now physically entered the forest and connected with the subject. Because of this change in perspective, viewers encountering Lee’s monumental landscapes experience the work as though they are looking at a forest where they can step inside, a feeling that elicits different images for each viewer while evoking personal emotions.
Born in 1967, Lee Kwang-Ho received his B.F.A. in painting in 1994 from College of Fine Arts, Seoul National University, and an M.F.A. in printmaking in 1999 from the same university. Since 1996, he has participated in numerous solo exhibitions including significant shows at Kukje Gallery and Johyun Gallery. He also participated in more than ninety group exhibitions at various institutions including Seoul National University Museum of Art and Gyeongnam Art Museum in 2013, Saatchi Gallery in London and Jeonbuk Museum of Art in 2012, Seoul Museum of Art and National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung in 2011, Prague Biennale in 2009. His works are included in the collections of National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Gyeonggi Museum of Art, and Jeju Museum of Art. Lee is a professor of Fine Arts at Ewha Womans University, Seoul.