Hakgojae Gallery is pleased to present My Dear, a solo exhibition of works by Woosung Lee (b.1983, Seoul) in Seoul, on view from December 7th 2017, through January 7th, 2018. Lee’s works are the portrait of the people of today’s society, and begins from paying attention to ordinary events. In his recent works, on view in this exhibition, Lee paints his subjects on large fabric banners. Though banners have been widely used as propaganda in the past, Lee paints his personal acquaintances in their ordinary routines, such as having a cup of coffee or waiting for a bus. The realistic yet symbolic vocabularies, and the idea of ‘painting that folds and unfolds’ creates the artist’s unique oeuvre.
This exhibition begins from Seungok Kim’s novel, Seoul, Winter 1964 (1964). Lee has deemed that this novel is still relevant today. The characters in the novel, representing the precipitately matured people of the upheaval period, and the unemployed or under-employed, yet well-educated youth of the present are different yet have many similarities. In this exhibition, Lee’s anonymous figures from his earlier works become specific in content as well as technical ways. The figures are mostly the artist’s friends and depicted in detail to compare with his symbolic painting in the past. Lee attempts to capture the reality and life as it is, and places them on banners to display that reality not only to the art world, but to the world in general.
Lee Woosung was born in Seoul, 1983. He received his BFA in Painting from Hongik University and MFA in Fine Arts from Korea National University of Arts. Following his first exhibition in 2008, he has held many exhibitions in Korea’s major art museums such as Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul), Gyeongnam Art Museum (Changwon, Korea), etc. He also worked on multiple projects in major alternative spaces such as Common Center (Seoul), Art Space Pool (Seoul), Amado Art Space/Lab (Seoul), etc. He participated in exhibitions abroad, such as DOOSAN Gallery New York (New York), and Wexford Art Center (Wexford, Ireland). Although he has held many exhibitions in various institutions, My Dear is Lee’s first solo exhibition in a gallery.
