SEOUNG LEE
ARTIST NOTE
Mr. Lee Seoung is a distinguished artist in the field of craft and mixed media art. Mr. Lee Seoung outstanding artistic excellence has been nationally recognized in his field. Seoung Lee's craft artworks consist of processes that make other experts,artists and viewers think about the fundamental methodologies and essentials of painting. The work method itself, which is composed of several thread layers, is not only original, but also makes viewers curious. In order to understand Lee Seoung's work, it is necessary to look at his background. He majored in Craft in his undergraduate program, completed a master's degree in Furniture Design, and obtained a doctorate degree in Interior Architecture at the most prestigious art school. Through his book "Furniture Design History and Process," his research thesis, and his artwork area, he has been equipped with creative thinking and diversity of art. Based on diverse artistic background, he was able to have his own originality in a variety of studies obtained by his expertise in art, design, and interior architecture. This originality of Lee Seoung contributed greatly to the development of Korean craft and mixed-material art through the technique of thread painting." His excellence the field of craft and mixed media art enabled him to win many national art competitions. More specifically, his reccipt of those two top prizes of Excellence Prize and 6 other prizes including the Encouragement Prize, Special Prize and 4 Winning Prizes at the various national art/craft competitions clearly show his contributions to the development of craft in Korea.
As his excellence in craft, winning top art prizes at the national art competitions was widely recognized by the experts in his field, his reputable expertise in craft was even expanded by his more than 150 exhibitions including 15 solo exhibitions. And his sensational "'thread painting" at his solo exhibition at the reputable museum of art has received extensive media coverage including ten major published material about his distinguished thread painting and wood craft. That is, Mr. Lee Seoung and his accomplishments were the focal points of the various published material including various influential publications of Sisa Magazine, Monthly Art, Each Journal and other major daily newspapers nationwide.
As his extraordinary achievements including his receipts of various national art competition in the fields of craft, the extensive media coverage of his distinguished craft / mixed media art, and his distinguished individual and group exhibitions have been recognized among experts in his field, he has been selected to serve on multiple artist and artwork selection panels at numerous art competitions Most significantly, Mr. Lee Seoung was a Judge of 3rd Round Judging committee of the 32nd Grand Art Exhibition of Korea in the Division of Craft, in 2013. Please note that 'The Grand Art Exhibition of Korea' is the most prestigious art competition in Korea. Winning the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea, Craft Division would be the highest honor among craft artists. While there were 3 rounds of judging processes at the competition, the judges for the 3rd round were selected among the most reputable craft artists in Korea and Mr. Lee Seoung was one of the honorable judges at 3rd round screening. Besides his service as a judge of the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea, Mr. Lee has participated in the judging activities at the 2nd and 3rd Kyung Hyang Art Festival, one of the largest national art competitions, in 2006 and 2007. Based on his excellence in his field, Mr. Lee has performed judging function for other key art or craftwork competitions including the 8th Korea Women's Art Exhibition' in 2007, the 24th Korea New Arts Contest Exhibition in January 2007, the Cheonan City Craftwork Exhibition' in May 2021, 2019 and 2020, and Chungcheongnam-do Recognized Cultural Product Selection in 2019 and 2020 Based on Mr. Lee's splendid achievements in his field, Mr. Lee was granted the highly honorable status of "Invitational Artist" for "The Grand Art Exhibition of Korea" in 2013. "The Grand Art Exhibition of Korea" (GAEK) is the largest and the most prestigious art contest and exhibition in Korea. The selection process for "Invitational Artist" status for GAEK had very restrictive qualifications as those artists ho obtained more than 10 accumulated points were to be considered. Because of this very rigorous selection process and the fact that only those distinguished artists with extraordinary artistic ability are qualified, the 'Invitational Artist" for GAEK is regarded as the Artist's Hall of Fame," the most prestigious status in the field of arts in Korea. For these reasons, Mr. Lee Seoung's selection of "Invitational Artist" for GAEK shows his outstanding artistic achievements including his receipts of Winner Prize four times at GAEK and his outstanding performance at various solo and group exhibitions in Korea. And his artistic status as "Invitational Artist for GAEK" is also key factors of his critical role for the Korean Fine Arts Association Please note that The Korean Fine Arts Association (KFAA) is a representative artist organization in Korea with more than 40,000 members, about 300 branches nationwide, and 28 specialized departments such as Western and Oriental paintings, sculpture, printmaking, craft and calligraphy. Since Mr. Lee Seoung became a member of KFAA in 1996 and has performed a critical role for KFAA.
The beneficiary's critical role for KFAA includes his receipt of Winner Prizes at the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea four times, his critical service for the organization as the Judge of 3rd Round Judging committee of the 32nd Grand Art Exhibition of Korea in the Division of Craft, and other critical services are as follows
1) Steering Member of Modern Craft Division of the 32nd Grand Art Exhibition of Korea,
2) Chairman of Craft Department of Ansan Branch of Korean Fine Arts Association
3) Young Adult Three Dimension Department member of the Korean Fine Arts Association and
4) Craft Department Member of Korean Fine Arts Association. And most significantly.
And most significantly, the fact that Mr. Lee Seoung has been selected as "Invitational Artist for the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea operated by KFAA would be direct evidence of the beneficiary's critical role for KFAA.
Winning artist, a judge at many national art competition, performing critical role for Korea's largest artist organization (KFAA) and being selected as the "Invitational Artist" for the most prestigious national art competition (GAEK), in academic side, he has been an author of 4 scholarly articles and one academic book, titled "'History of Furniture & Process' (e-First, December 25, 2007). As furiture is related to various artistic fields such as architecture, painting, sculpture, craft and design, Mr. Lee Seoung , as an author, explained the characteristics of each era and artistic trends along with furniture at that time. Based on diverse knowledge in arts, he has won numerous awards, proving his distinguished artistic originality and he has shown huge impact on his field through originality of his artworks. Through his endless artistic path as a pioneer to new type of arts in the field of craft and mixed media art, his "thread painting" that was exhibited at many solo exhibitions and extensively covered by various news media, has inspired many other artists and experts in the field of craft and mixed media art. As to his impact on the field of craft and mixed media art, Mr. Lee Seoung as a "thread painting " artist, fuses Western and Eastern art by going beyond the limits of the fields of painting, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, embroidery, craft and installation art. He is a pioneer who has led the Korean avant-garde art , expanding the scope of materiality by using thread and light as object. An art critic evaluated him, stating that ""he is the most original artist in modern Korea art with a spirit of denial of existing values and conventions. Thread artist Lee Seoung is not bound by style or custom, breaking away from the banal notions and uniform thinking of existing art, showing new genre of art to experts through his inimitable work as duology and style of modern art. That is, he fills the interspace made of threads and layers with color and light, connects the boundary between the real and the virtual and shows a visual exploration of the essence of the object."
As described above, Mr. Lee Seoung is highly respected and recognized as an outstanding and talented individual in the field of craft and mixed media art by his peers in his area of arts and has achieved prominence in his field of endeavor Mr. Lee's outstanding achievements and original initiatives of using thread as a metaphorical armature to explore the nature of the line and the potential held therein will provide a tremendous contribution and benefit to the artistic community in the U.S. And he will be invaluable assets to the U.S., significantly contributing to the visual arts and creative culture of the U.S., with significant impact on the artistic development of mixed media work in the U.S.
SELECTED WORKS
ARTIST BIO
Education
- Hongik University, College of Art Bachelor of Arts
- Hongik University, Graduate School of Industrial Art
Master of Fine Arts - Hongik University, Graduate School of Architecture Ph.D.
Solo Exhibitions
- 2024
August: Bank Art Fair Solo Exhibition (COEX, Seoul)
February: Invitational Exhibition (Gaga Gallery, Insa-dong, Seoul)
- 2023
November: Daejeon International Art Show (DIAS, Daejeon)
- 2021
November: Hoon Gallery (Samseong-ro 140-gil, Seoul)
August: Invitational Exhibition, “Filling or Emptying” (K&P Gallery, New York)
June: A Dreamy Memory, “With Light” (Jeonbuk Museum of Art, Seoul)
- 2018
July: Thread Painting, “Let the Koi Fly” (Jeonbuk Museum of Art, Seoul)
- 2017
March: Invitational Exhibition (Gaga Gallery, Insa-dong, Seoul)
March: Invitational Exhibition, “Line” (Insa Art Plaza, Seoul)
- 2016
November: “Layer” (Insa Art Center, Seoul)
- 2012-2004
Various exhibitions at venues like Nowon Culture and Arts Center (Seoul), Ansan Cultural Center (Ansan), and Gyeongin Museum of Art (Seoul).
Group Exhibitions (2020 - Present)
- 2024: Nature's Dream Hope (Yeosu)
- 2022: CPS Gallery (New York, Manhattan), Hoon Gallery Happy New Year Greetings
- 2021: A&C Art Festival 2021, 26th Ansan Art Association Exhibition
- 2020: Jeonju Museum of Contemporary Art Special Exhibition, 47th Korea Craft Association Exhibition, 25th Ansan Art Association Exhibition, 54th Korean Fine Arts Association Exhibition
Awards
- Excellence Prize, 8th Iksan Korean Craft Exhibition (2007)
- Excellence Prize, 2006 Danwon Art Competition (2006)
- Special Prize, 2005 Danwon Art Competition (2005)
- Multiple Winner Prizes at the Iksan Korean Craft Exhibition (2003-2007)
- Four Winner Prizes at the Korean Craft Exhibition as part of the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea (1994, 1995, 1996, 1998).
Jury/Judge Roles
- Judge for the 32nd Grand Art Exhibition of Korea, Craft Division (2013)
- Judge for the Kyung Hyang Art Festival (2006-2007)
- Judge for the Korea Women’s Art Exhibition (2007)
- Judge for Korea New Arts Contest Exhibition, Crafts Division (2007)
- Judge for Cheonan City Craftwork Exhibition (2021)
- Judge for Chungcheongnam-do Recognized Cultural Product Selection (2019, 2020)
- Judge for the 47th and 45th Chungcheongnam-do Crafts Exhibitions (2015, 2017).
SEOUNG LEE
ARTIST NOTE
Mr. Lee Seoung is a distinguished artist in the field of craft and mixed media art. Mr. Lee Seoung outstanding artistic excellence has been nationally recognized in his field. Seoung Lee's craft artworks consist of processes that make other experts,artists and viewers think about the fundamental methodologies and essentials of painting. The work method itself, which is composed of several thread layers, is not only original, but also makes viewers curious. In order to understand Lee Seoung's work, it is necessary to look at his background. He majored in Craft in his undergraduate program, completed a master's degree in Furniture Design, and obtained a doctorate degree in Interior Architecture at the most prestigious art school. Through his book "Furniture Design History and Process," his research thesis, and his artwork area, he has been equipped with creative thinking and diversity of art. Based on diverse artistic background, he was able to have his own originality in a variety of studies obtained by his expertise in art, design, and interior architecture. This originality of Lee Seoung contributed greatly to the development of Korean craft and mixed-material art through the technique of thread painting." His excellence the field of craft and mixed media art enabled him to win many national art competitions. More specifically, his reccipt of those two top prizes of Excellence Prize and 6 other prizes including the Encouragement Prize, Special Prize and 4 Winning Prizes at the various national art/craft competitions clearly show his contributions to the development of craft in Korea.
As his excellence in craft, winning top art prizes at the national art competitions was widely recognized by the experts in his field, his reputable expertise in craft was even expanded by his more than 150 exhibitions including 15 solo exhibitions. And his sensational "'thread painting" at his solo exhibition at the reputable museum of art has received extensive media coverage including ten major published material about his distinguished thread painting and wood craft. That is, Mr. Lee Seoung and his accomplishments were the focal points of the various published material including various influential publications of Sisa Magazine, Monthly Art, Each Journal and other major daily newspapers nationwide.
As his extraordinary achievements including his receipts of various national art competition in the fields of craft, the extensive media coverage of his distinguished craft / mixed media art, and his distinguished individual and group exhibitions have been recognized among experts in his field, he has been selected to serve on multiple artist and artwork selection panels at numerous art competitions Most significantly, Mr. Lee Seoung was a Judge of 3rd Round Judging committee of the 32nd Grand Art Exhibition of Korea in the Division of Craft, in 2013. Please note that 'The Grand Art Exhibition of Korea' is the most prestigious art competition in Korea. Winning the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea, Craft Division would be the highest honor among craft artists. While there were 3 rounds of judging processes at the competition, the judges for the 3rd round were selected among the most reputable craft artists in Korea and Mr. Lee Seoung was one of the honorable judges at 3rd round screening. Besides his service as a judge of the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea, Mr. Lee has participated in the judging activities at the 2nd and 3rd Kyung Hyang Art Festival, one of the largest national art competitions, in 2006 and 2007. Based on his excellence in his field, Mr. Lee has performed judging function for other key art or craftwork competitions including the 8th Korea Women's Art Exhibition' in 2007, the 24th Korea New Arts Contest Exhibition in January 2007, the Cheonan City Craftwork Exhibition' in May 2021, 2019 and 2020, and Chungcheongnam-do Recognized Cultural Product Selection in 2019 and 2020 Based on Mr. Lee's splendid achievements in his field, Mr. Lee was granted the highly honorable status of "Invitational Artist" for "The Grand Art Exhibition of Korea" in 2013. "The Grand Art Exhibition of Korea" (GAEK) is the largest and the most prestigious art contest and exhibition in Korea. The selection process for "Invitational Artist" status for GAEK had very restrictive qualifications as those artists ho obtained more than 10 accumulated points were to be considered. Because of this very rigorous selection process and the fact that only those distinguished artists with extraordinary artistic ability are qualified, the 'Invitational Artist" for GAEK is regarded as the Artist's Hall of Fame," the most prestigious status in the field of arts in Korea. For these reasons, Mr. Lee Seoung's selection of "Invitational Artist" for GAEK shows his outstanding artistic achievements including his receipts of Winner Prize four times at GAEK and his outstanding performance at various solo and group exhibitions in Korea. And his artistic status as "Invitational Artist for GAEK" is also key factors of his critical role for the Korean Fine Arts Association Please note that The Korean Fine Arts Association (KFAA) is a representative artist organization in Korea with more than 40,000 members, about 300 branches nationwide, and 28 specialized departments such as Western and Oriental paintings, sculpture, printmaking, craft and calligraphy. Since Mr. Lee Seoung became a member of KFAA in 1996 and has performed a critical role for KFAA.
The beneficiary's critical role for KFAA includes his receipt of Winner Prizes at the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea four times, his critical service for the organization as the Judge of 3rd Round Judging committee of the 32nd Grand Art Exhibition of Korea in the Division of Craft, and other critical services are as follows
1) Steering Member of Modern Craft Division of the 32nd Grand Art Exhibition of Korea,
2) Chairman of Craft Department of Ansan Branch of Korean Fine Arts Association
3) Young Adult Three Dimension Department member of the Korean Fine Arts Association and
4) Craft Department Member of Korean Fine Arts Association. And most significantly.
And most significantly, the fact that Mr. Lee Seoung has been selected as "Invitational Artist for the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea operated by KFAA would be direct evidence of the beneficiary's critical role for KFAA.
Winning artist, a judge at many national art competition, performing critical role for Korea's largest artist organization (KFAA) and being selected as the "Invitational Artist" for the most prestigious national art competition (GAEK), in academic side, he has been an author of 4 scholarly articles and one academic book, titled "'History of Furniture & Process' (e-First, December 25, 2007). As furiture is related to various artistic fields such as architecture, painting, sculpture, craft and design, Mr. Lee Seoung , as an author, explained the characteristics of each era and artistic trends along with furniture at that time. Based on diverse knowledge in arts, he has won numerous awards, proving his distinguished artistic originality and he has shown huge impact on his field through originality of his artworks. Through his endless artistic path as a pioneer to new type of arts in the field of craft and mixed media art, his "thread painting" that was exhibited at many solo exhibitions and extensively covered by various news media, has inspired many other artists and experts in the field of craft and mixed media art. As to his impact on the field of craft and mixed media art, Mr. Lee Seoung as a "thread painting " artist, fuses Western and Eastern art by going beyond the limits of the fields of painting, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, embroidery, craft and installation art. He is a pioneer who has led the Korean avant-garde art , expanding the scope of materiality by using thread and light as object. An art critic evaluated him, stating that ""he is the most original artist in modern Korea art with a spirit of denial of existing values and conventions. Thread artist Lee Seoung is not bound by style or custom, breaking away from the banal notions and uniform thinking of existing art, showing new genre of art to experts through his inimitable work as duology and style of modern art. That is, he fills the interspace made of threads and layers with color and light, connects the boundary between the real and the virtual and shows a visual exploration of the essence of the object."
As described above, Mr. Lee Seoung is highly respected and recognized as an outstanding and talented individual in the field of craft and mixed media art by his peers in his area of arts and has achieved prominence in his field of endeavor Mr. Lee's outstanding achievements and original initiatives of using thread as a metaphorical armature to explore the nature of the line and the potential held therein will provide a tremendous contribution and benefit to the artistic community in the U.S. And he will be invaluable assets to the U.S., significantly contributing to the visual arts and creative culture of the U.S., with significant impact on the artistic development of mixed media work in the U.S.
SELECTED WORKS
ARTIST BIO
Education
Master of Fine Arts
Solo Exhibitions
August: Bank Art Fair Solo Exhibition (COEX, Seoul)
February: Invitational Exhibition (Gaga Gallery, Insa-dong, Seoul)
November: Daejeon International Art Show (DIAS, Daejeon)
November: Hoon Gallery (Samseong-ro 140-gil, Seoul)
August: Invitational Exhibition, “Filling or Emptying” (K&P Gallery, New York)
June: A Dreamy Memory, “With Light” (Jeonbuk Museum of Art, Seoul)
July: Thread Painting, “Let the Koi Fly” (Jeonbuk Museum of Art, Seoul)
March: Invitational Exhibition (Gaga Gallery, Insa-dong, Seoul)
March: Invitational Exhibition, “Line” (Insa Art Plaza, Seoul)
November: “Layer” (Insa Art Center, Seoul)
Various exhibitions at venues like Nowon Culture and Arts Center (Seoul), Ansan Cultural Center (Ansan), and Gyeongin Museum of Art (Seoul).
Group Exhibitions (2020 - Present)
Awards
Jury/Judge Roles