Artist
Lee Bae (b.1956)
Lee Bae was born in 1956, Chungdo. He worked in Korea after graduating from Hongik University with B.A. Fine art. When Korean government liberalized overseas trips for the citizens, in 1989, he left to France, where every artist dreams for once. It was an important period not only for him since his art life was transited, but also for the world since it was a transition period, dreaming of change all over the world; the Berlin Wall was fallen, and the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 was taken place. In 1989, when he worked in Paris, a significant change in his work that came with much change in his perception was the development of ‘black’.
Several reasons for his black-covered canvas are assumed, but one thing clear is that what he believed in disappeared into the black surface as a wall collapsed through his unexpected experience in a new circumstance. Lee Bae's black work is a good example of being distinguished from other monochromatic works in that it is saturated by extremely compressing all realistic elements while the monochromatic painting style of Korean abstract art restrained the pleasure of form and color and sought to purify the mind.
Born: 1956, South Korea
Education: B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Painting, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
Solo Exhibitions (Brief)
2026
En attendant, Museum SAN, Wonju, Korea
2023
Issu du Feu, Rockefeller Center Channel Gardens, New York, USA
2022
Lee Bae, Johyun Gallery, Busan, Korea
SAINT LAURENT: LEE BAE, Frieze Seoul, Seoul, Korea
OBLIQUE, Johyun Gallery, Busan, Korea
Black in Constellation, Perrotin, Paris, France
2021
Lee Bae, Indang Museum, Daegu, Korea
Lee Bae, Wooson Gallery, Daegu, Korea
PARADIGM OF CHARCOAL, Perrotin, Hong Kong, China
UNION, Fondation PHI, Montreal, Canada
2020
The Sublime Charcoal Light, Perrotin, Tokyo, Japan
Lee Bae, Gallery 2, Seoul/Jeju, Korea
Lee Bae, Johyun Gallery, Busan, Korea
2019
Promenade, Perrotin, New York, USA
Venice Wood Water, Wilmotte Foundation Gallery, Venice, Italy
2018
Lee Bae, P&C Gallery, Daegu, Korea
Plus de Lumière, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
BLACK MAPPING, Perrotin, Paris, France
Overstated & Understated, Paradise Art Space, Incheon, Korea
2016
TRANSITION, Wooson Gallery, Daegu, Korea
Lee Bae, Musée National des Arts Asiatiques - Guimet, Paris, France
2014
Lee Bae, Gallery Hyundai, Seoul, Korea
The Streams Rise in the Firmament, Daegu Art Museum, Daegu, Korea
2000
Artist of the Year, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Gwacheon, Korea
1982
Lee Bae, Kwanhoon Gallery, Seoul, Korea (First Solo Exhibition)
Group Exhibitions (Brief)
2023
Contemporary Art: In Search of Light, Suseong Artpia, Daegu, Korea
2022
1.5 Degrees, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
2021
Catastrophe and Recovery, MMCA, Seoul, Korea
2016
Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, Korea
2014
Busan Biennale, Busan Museum of Art, Busan, Korea
2012
Dansaekhwa: Korean Monochrome Painting, MMCA, Gwacheon, Korea
Awards & Residency
2018
Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France
2013
Association of Korean Art Critics Award
2009
Artist of the Year, Korean Cultural Center, Paris, France
2000
Artist of the Year, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Korea
Public Collections
Korea
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA); Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA); Busan Museum of Art; Daegu Art Museum; Leeum Museum of Art; Seoul National University Museum of Art (SNUMoA), etc.
International
Musée Guimet (Paris); Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain de Saint-Étienne (France); Fondation Maeght (France); Musée Cernuschi (Paris); Barú Foundation (Spain), etc.