Jaehyo Lee (이재효) & his massive organic sculptures – Our top 10

Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=193061, 1993, stones
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=193061, 1993, stones

Biography

Jaehyo Lee (b. 1965, Hapchen, South Korea) graduated in 1992 with a BFA from the Hong-Ik University in Seoul. Combining distinct traces of Land Art, Arte Povera and Minimalism Lee´s works cast a questioning eye over the roots of form, its function and its role within the natural world.

Work between modern art and design

Lee´s works willfully play with the oft-contested boundaries between modern art and design, referencing the idealist´s cubes, cylinders and cones as perversions of the chaise longue, the coffee table, the lampshade, and even the humble doughnut.

The beauty of art as a product of labor

Revealing a subtly humorous and unsentimental attitude to nature, what unites these works is a belief that the beauty of art is a product of the labor from whence it comes, whether this is the meticulous carving of larch trunks into the form of a perfect sphere or, equally, the precise bending and sanding of thousands of nails hammered one after another into a hunk of cut lumber.

Artist’s Statement – In his own words

Until recently, my work has been about combining wood with nails or steel bars and integrating them into geometrical shapes such as spheres, hemispheres, or cylinders. Whenever I did this, one of my problems was to keep the nails and bolts out of sight. Now, on the contrary, I put an emphasis on the nails themselves. I drive countless nails into wood, bend them, grind them, and make them protrude. I then burn the wood, blackening its growth ring records and its natural color. The glittering metallic nails on the black charcoal become ever more conspicuous, and through this process, I draw a picture on wood using nails. Those who make a hard living may be the ones who make this world a beautiful place. I certainly do not have the power to make it beautiful. I just hope to reveal the beauty in what is usually seen but not noticed. It may be a rusty bent nail. If you take a close look at it, however, you’ll find out how beautiful it can be.

– Jaehyo Lee

Video: Interview with Jaehyo Lee

JaeHyo Lee 'Return to Nature'

14 min 49 sec

Photos

Jaehyo Lee - Lotus, 2013, Wood (Korean Big Cone Pine), 216 in; 548.6 cm
Jaehyo Lee – Lotus, 2013, Wood (Korean Big Cone Pine), height: 548.6 cm (216 in)
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=102101, 2002, Wood, 350x350x350cm
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=102101, 2002, Wood, 350 x 350 x 350 cm
Jaehyo Lee - 0121-1110=107041, 520 x 520 x 520 cm, wood, Korean Eye, Saatchi, 2012
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=107041, 520 x 520 x 520 cm, wood, Korean Eye, Saatchi, London, 2012
Jaehyo Lee - 0121-1110=114047, 2014, 700x700x700cm, wood
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=114047, 2014, 700 x 700 x 700 cm, wood
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=191111, 1991, Stone, 300x300x350cm
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=191111, 1991, Stone, 300 x 300 x 350 cm
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=197073, 1997, Stone, 220x220x350cm
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=197073, 1997, Stone, 220 x 220 x 350 cm
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=194051, 1994, Grass, 150 x 150 x 150 cm
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=194051, 1994, Grass, 150 x 150 x 150 cm
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=115075, 2015, Wood, 560x130x360cm
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=115075, 2015, Wood, 560 x 130 x 360 cm
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=1110112, 2011, Snow, size variable
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=1110112, 2011, snow, size variable

All images by Jaehyo Lee unless otherwise noted.

Citation

Stay in touch

We would love to keep the conversation going.

Please join us on Instagram, Telegram or YouTube.

Want inspiration in your inbox?