Able Fine Art NY Gallery is proud to present the solo exhibition of Kwanwoo Lee “Condensation.” Kwanwoo Lee is recognized as one of the most popular and influential contemporary artists in Korea. The exhibition features his most recent works, comprised of large-scale mixed media paintings whose pixilated surface is constructed out of traditional Korean seals and stamps that develop into undulating, relief-like surfaces. Lee’s use of stamps has been described as allegories of memory, intrinsically linked to time, life and nature.
In the series titled, “Condensation,” Kwanwoo Lee combines hundreds of tiny stamps and seals of various shapes and sizes – each uniquely carved in the traditional Korean style – and assembles them into large-scale pieces, such as the figure of Buddha, and abstract compositions. Each engraving and symbol of the stamp represents personalized identity, carrying great emotional and historical weight. By plainly laying them on the canvas, without the stress of trying to create a particular image, he composes a natural rhythm. He need not force a story or a composition for the antiquity of the stamps traces all of them. The metaphor of name, memory and time to the human mind connected with the copied seal of transparent material start to resurface.

Reflecting on the traditional use of Korean seals to officiate documents and works, Kwanwoo Lee also raises questions on issues of identity and authenticity in the post-industrial digital world. As art critic Jill Conner states: “It is currently unknown what trace of any global society will look like in the future now that the preservation of documentation is mostly digital. Kwanwoo Lee focuses on the historic displacement of the cultural seal-stamp wrought by computer technology.”

Kwanwoo Lee was born in Gwacheon, South Korea. He studied art at Kwandong University, where he majored in Western Painting. His works have been exhibited in various solo and group shows in Korea, such as Insa Art Center Gallery, Gallery Soo, and Kwan-Hun Gallery. He has also participated in a number of Art Fairs including KIAF in Seoul, Korea, the Salon des Artistes INDEPENDANTS at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, the Peking Art Fair in Peking, China, and Artexpo New York in New York, America.

Able Fine Art NY Gallery has long history of introducing exceptional emerging and established international artists to the New York audience. By recognizing young talents that retain and embrace traditions yet express them through original and exciting voices, Able Fine Art NY Gallery seeks to create a bridge between times and cultures.
Able Fine Art NY Gallery, 143B Orchard Street, NY, NY 10002
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