"When I feel good, and very good, unexpected things come out when I move the brush. That’s when I feel the mystique," said Lee Kang So, an 83-year-old master of contemporary Korean art. On good days, he picks up a brush and, without hesitation, creates large-scale works measuring up to 11 meters, allowing the brush to move as it wishes.
On August 20, a day before the opening of his solo exhibition, "Lee Kang So: Emergence and Dissolution," at the Lotte Museum in Seoul, Lee frequently mentioned the word "mystique." He stated, "The very act of being alive is mysterious."
This exhibition brings together over 150 works from Lee's five-decade career, showcasing his experiments across painting, sculpture, and installation. It features significant pieces from the 1970s, a pivotal era in Korean experimental art, as well as new works being unveiled for the first time.
Lee has long focused on the concept of existence, grappling with the question, "Do objects truly exist?" He believes nothing is fixed. "Nothing in this world remains still. Everything is in constant flux, and all things change, regardless of who you are," he explained. This perspective has led him to create works that are "born and disappear" through spontaneous brush strokes, bodily movements, chance, and improvisation.
The exhibition includes works that reflect this worldview, featuring 11 major series such as the LED installation based on his representative painting series "Cheongmyeong," as well as significant pieces like "Untitled," "From the Island," and others that represent 1970s Korean experimental art.
In one corner of the exhibition, Lee has recreated his 1973 piece "Disappearance," which he first presented at his debut solo exhibition. At the age of 30, he transformed a gallery into a tavern, complete with tables, chairs, and drinking vessels, inviting people to come in, drink, and share stories, thus extending the artwork into the realm of time and relationships.
Reflecting on "Disappearance," Lee recalled his youthful days of questioning "reality." One day, while having lunch with a senior colleague, he suddenly thought, "It seems that neither my senior nor I can truly see ourselves, yet we live as if we exist." This moment marked the beginning of his doubts about whether objects exist as we perceive them.
For over fifty years, he has held onto that question, and these days, he is pursuing mystique through "unconventional acts." Like a child creating interesting shapes with clay, he mixes soil from Gyeongju and Sancheong with sand and throws clumps of it to the ground. The combination of his mindset, movements, gravity, and the state of the soil creates unintended forms. More than 30 of these "throwing sculptures" are featured in the exhibition.
The 83-year-old master smiled as he said, "It’s so much fun to see the clumps change and sculpt themselves. Doing something I’ve never done before is really enjoyable."
The exhibition is held at the Lotte Museum, with adult admission priced at 20,000 won and 13,000 won for youth and children.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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