Born in 1965 in Hapchen Korea, Jae Hyo Lee produces immaculately formed, intricate sculptures that reveal a mastery of his materials.
In the Gyeonggi Province, where he lives, in the south of Seoul, the forest and the Han River are never far away. The subject of nature is central to the art of Lee Jae Hyo. "I have a great respect for nature. My works are inspired by it. I collect logs in forests, the stones come from the riverbed. To choose one or the other already determined the work to come, "says Lee.
The energy of nature, the uncluttered lines, the simplicity of its elements, shapes his works. "I don’t really know which of the two, the material or the artist, is prevailing! It is as if my hands followed the essence of the material ... Every wood has its own characteristics. I don’t work against it, but with it. The material guides my gesture, the texture decides the form. We can’t impose it from the outside.
The globe is a perfect form that is recurrent in his work. One needs to touch them to feel the smoothness of the polished wood, as smooth as the silk. But also to smell the scent of wood grain and stones…
The artist shares a great respect for raw materials but also a will to dominate what nature has provided. The perfection of his works lies in the balance between complexity of forms and simplicity of materials
As a veritable genius, he lays bare the intimate nature of these materials and enhances the natural shape and color of wood, so that it becomes a work of art.
Lee´s works willfully play with the oft-contested boundaries between modern art and design, referencing the idealist´s cubes, cylinders and cones.
His wood-on-wood combinations read as playful meditations on the multifaceted nature of wood itself.
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 be 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.
Amongst many other distinctions Jaehyo was in 1998 Grand Prize Winner at the Osaka Triennial and in 2002 recipient of the prestigious Irish Sculpture in Woodland commission. His works are held in public and private collections across Europe, Asia and North America.
Lee Jaehyo live and work in Korea.
Solo Exhibitions
2016 ·The 43th – Seongnam Arts Center (Seoul)
2015 ·The 42th – M Art Center (Shanghai)
·The 41th – Sohyang Gallery(Busan)
2014 ·The 40th - Pyo Gallery(Seoul)
·The 39th - Albemarle Gallery(London)
·The 38th - Gegjoo Literature House (Korea)
·The 37th – BUNDO Gallery(Korea)
·The 36th – M Art Center (Shanghai)
·The 35th - HADA Gallery(London)
2013 ·The 34th - Ever Harvest Art Gallery (Taiwan)
2012 ·The 33rd - Madison Gallery(San Diego)
·The 32nd - Albemarle Gallery(London)
·The 31st - Parkryesook Gallery(Korea)
·The 30th - DOSI Gallery (Korea)
·The 29th - HADA Gallery(London)
·The 28th - Sungkok Museum(Korea)
·The 27th - Cynthia-Reeves Contemporary(Brooklyn, New York)
2011 ·The 26th - Albemarle Gallery(London)
·The 25th - Galeria Ethra(Mexico)
·The 24th - Galerie Noordeinde(Netherlands)
·The 23rd - Momtgomery Museum of Fine Arts(Alabama)
2010 ·The 22nd - Yoon Gallery(Seoul)
·The 21st - Albemarle Gallery(London)
·The 20th – Nampo Art Museum(Korea)
·The 19th - Kwai Fung Hin Gallery(Hong Kong)
·The 18th – Cynthia-Reeves Contemporary(New York)
2009 ·the 17th - Gallery Sol Beach(Korea)
·the 16th - Ever Harvest Art Gallery (Taiwan)
·the 15th - Gallery Keumsan(Japan)
·the 14th - Solo Exhibition(Albemarle Gallery-London)
2008 ·the 13rd - Solo Exhibition(MANAS Art Center-Korea)
·the 12nd - Solo Exhibition(BUNDO Gallery-Korea)
·the 11st - Solo Exhibition(DOSI Gallery-Korea)
·the 10th - Solo Exhibition(REEVES Contemporary-New York)
2007 ·the 9th - Solo Exhibition(Gallery Keumsan-Japan)
·the 8th - Solo Exhibition(Gallery Artside-China)
·the 7th - Solo Exhibition(Gallery Keumsan-Korea)
2006 ·The 6th - Gallery Marin (Korea)
2005 ·The 5th - Gallery Artside (Korea)
2003 ·The 4th - Gallery Won (Korea)
2001 ·The 3rd - Vermont Studio Center (USA)
2000 ·The 2nd - Ilmin Museum of Art (Korea)
1996 ·The 1st - Museum of Seoul Arts Center (Korea)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016 ·Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams(Massachusetts)
·Lee Jaehyo, Lee Jaesam Exhibition(Inje Museum)
2015 ·KIAF 2015(COEX)
·RE: Kontemporary-Fermented Souls(Waterfall Mansion, N.Y)
·Donations Exhibition ‘I Dream’(Avenuel Art Hall)
2014 ·2014 International Fire Sculpture Festival in
Jeongseon(Samtan Art Mine-Korea)
·Jeonbuk Artshow 2014(Sori Arts Center of
Jeollabuk-do)
·The Nature(Cyan Museum-Korea)
·The Creation(Samtan Art Mine-Korea)
2013 ·Art of Nature(Opera Gallery-Dubai)
·The Wood-of tree, from tree(Chung Mun Kyu Museum)
·KIAF 2013(COEX)
·Dubai Art-fair(Dubai)
·Hommage a Whanki(Whanki Museum)
·Seek & Desire(Gyeongnam Art Museum)
·Contemporary Art in the Textbook(Aram Museum)
2012 ·KIAF 2012(COEX)
·Korean Eye(Saatchi Gallery-London)
·Aqueous(Albemarle Gallery-London)
·Contemporary Korean Art Since the 1990's(Korea)
·China International Gallery Exposition(Beijing)
·Design Days Dubai(Dubai)
·A Magic Moment(Basel Art Center)
·Water(HADA Gallery-U.K)
2011 ·International Sculpture Symposium in Icheon(Icheon)
·Moving Art Village(Nampo Art Museum)
·Hong Kong Art Fair 2011 (Hong Kong)
·Art Paris 2011 (Paris)
·SOFA New York 2011 (New York)
·Gotenyama Exhibition(Ippodo Gallery, Gotenyama)
2010 ·2010 Korea Tommorrow(SETEC)
·The Seoul Art Exhibition 2010(Seoul Museum of Art)
·G20 Seoul Summit Celebration Exhibition for the Korean
Fine Arts(National Assembly Library)
·Art Docking Spot(Woomyoung Art Museum)
·KIAF-VIP Lounge(COEX)
·Hongik Sculpture Exhibition(Triennale di Milano Incheon Museum)
·Taipei Art Fair(Taipei)
·Shanghai Art Fair(Shanghai)
·Lee Jaehyo & Lee Jungwoong Exhibition(Beacon Gallery)
·Arcades Project(Inter Alia Gallery)
·San Francisco Fine Art Fair (Fort Mason Center-San Francisco)
·Hong Kong Art Fair (Hong Kong)
·Art Chicago (Merchandise Mart-Chicago)
·Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair (New York)
·Multi Effect (Gallery Ihn)
·30th Anniversary of the Young Korean Artists
(National Museum of Contemporary Art)
·Korea Galleries Art Fair (BEXCO)
·Living Art Fair (COEX)
·Arts and Crafts Collaboration
(Icheon World Ceramic Center)
2009 ·A Korea& Singapore Joint Sculpture Exhibition
(Singapore-Botanic Garden)
·Yangpyeong Environmental Art(South Han River)
·Touchart Book Artists(Touchart Gallery)
·Korea International Art Fair (COEX)
·Art Fair Taipei 2009 (Taiwan)
·Like of Yves Saint Laurent(Gallery Artside)
·Korean Aesthetics (Albemarle Gallery-U.K)
·Mad for furniture (Nefspace)
·Hong Kong Art Fair (Gallery Keumsan)
·Korea Galleries Art Fair (BEXCO)
·Step of a Bull (Jang Eun Sun Gallery)
·The Great Hands (Hyundai Gallery)
2008 ·Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary(Museum of Arts
and Design-New York)
·Korea Now: Emerging Korean Art(ArtLink-Israel)
·Sanghai Contemporary Art Fair(Sanghai)
·Korea International Art Fair(COEX)
·Daegu Art Fair(EXCO)
·Art Museum the Traveling(National Museum of
Contemporary Art)
·Living Design fair(COEX)
·Contemporary Neo_metaphor 2008(Insa art center)
·Seoul Art Fair(BEXCO)
·Opening 10th Busan Municipal Museum of Art
(Busan Municipal Museum of Art)
·Changwon Asian Contemporary Art Exhibition(Changwon Art Hall)
·Circle & Sqaure(N Gallery Planning Invitation Exhibition)
2007 ·Lee jaehyo,Park seungmo,Chio taehoon Group
Exhibition(Manas art center)
·From Dot to Dot(Whanki Museum)
·Living Design fair(Designer's Choice-COEX)
·Beijing Art Fair(China)
·Tuning Boloni(China)
2006 ·Simply Beautiful(Centre PasquArt, Biel-Switzerland)
·Art Canal(River Suze-Switzerland)
·EHS Project(Cheonggyecheon-Seoul)
·China International Gallery
Exposition 2006(Beijing-China)
·Alchemy of Daily Life(New Zealand)
·Vibration(EBS Broadcasting Exhibition Hall)
2005 ·Vibration(Seoul City Art Museum)
·Hyogo International Competition
of Painting(Hyogo Prefecture Museum of Art-Japan)
·Art & Mathematics(Savina Museum)
2004 ·A Open Commemoration the Olympic Museum
(Olympic Museum)
·100% Propose(Gallery Sea&See)
·Imjin River(The Side of Imjin River)
·Alchemy of Daily Life(National Museum of
Contemporary Art)
·Wave(Gallery Dosi)
2003 ·Out of Wood(Kim Chong-Yung Sculpture Museum)
·The Happy Sympathy Between Human and Wood
(Daejeon Municipal Museum of Art)
·Benchmarking Project(Namsan Park)
·40`s Artist(Gallery Moro)
·Art Bench(Art Side)
2002 ·To Became One with Nature(YungEun Museum)
·International Environmental Art Exhibition a
Red-bellied Frog's Cry"(Seoul Arts Center, Seoul)
·DeulMok Association(Gallery Agio)
2001 ·Good Design Festival(KOEX)-Seoul
·The Association of Asian Contemporary Sculpture
(YungEun Museum of Contemporary Art)
·Lee Jae-Hyo, Han Sueng-Gon Exhibition(Hotel Lotte)
·Water, Wood, Metal, Earth, Live(Insa Art Gallery)
1991~2000 ·40th Group Exhibition
Permanent Collections
·National Museum of Contemporary Art(Korea)
·Moran Museum(Korea)
·Ilmin Museum of Art(Korea)
·Busan Municipal Museum of Art(Korea)
·Gyeonggi Museum of Morden Art(Korea)
·63 City Tower(Korea)
·W-Seoul Walker-hill Hotel(Korea)
·Borgata Hotel(USA)
·Park Hyatt Hotel Shanghai(China)
·Osaka Contemporary Art Center of Japan(Japan)
·MGM Hotel(USA)
·Hyogo Prefecture Museum of Art(Japan)
·Intercontinental Hotel(Switzerland)
·Briton Place-UMU Restaurant(UK)
·Sculpture in Woodland(Ireland)
·Grand Hyatt Hotel(Taiwan)
·Park Hyatt Hotel Washington D,C(USA)
·Marriott Hotel(Korea)
·Cornell University Herbert F. Johnson Museum(USA)
·Grand Hyatt Hotel Berlin(Germany)
·President Wilson Hotel(Swiss)
·Phoenix Island(Korea)
·Pusan National University Hospital(Korea)
·Industrial Bank(Taiwan)
·Crown Hotel(Australia)
·Park Hyatt Hotel Zurich(Switzerland)
·Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial(Japan)
·IFC Seoul Hotel(Korea)
·EMAAR Building(Dubai)