THE MASTERFUL CREATIONS OF SEONG-GU LEE: A LOOK INTO THE WORLD OF SCULPTURE

Lee's interest in sculpture began when he was just a teenager. He was fascinated by the way that sculptures could convey a sense of emotion and meaning in a way that other art forms could not. He began experimenting with different materials, including clay, wood, and stone, and soon discovered that he had a natural talent for sculpting.

After completing his high school education, Lee went on to study Sculpture at the University of Seoul in Korea. It was there that he began to develop his unique style, which is characterized by a combination of traditional Korean aesthetics and contemporary sculptural techniques.

 

One of Lee's early influences was the Italian sculptor Matteo Pugliese, who was known for his sculptures emerging from walls. Lee was inspired by Matteo’s ability to create sculptures that were both modern and rooted in Korean culture.

Lee's sculptures are often in a medium-large in scale, and they are designed to be viewed from multiple angles. He works primarily with bronze, which he finds to be a versatile material that allows him to create intricate details and textures. His sculptures often feature abstract forms and organic shapes, and he uses a variety of techniques to create visual interest, such as layering, texture, and negative space. The artist sometimes changes the bronze for the stainless steel or in the case of his ‘Solaris’ series he combines both metals.

 

One of Lee's most famous works is a series of sculptures called "Chiasme”. These sculptures are inspired by the natural elements and are designed to evoke a sense of movement and fluidity. The life size sculptures are covered in urethane, a varnish which will allow them to be placed in a garden or a patio and will preserve the same colour in time. 

 

To understand the choice of name, “Chiasme” in a broader sense to describe his creative process: his sculptures are the ultimate distillation of his human experience – of all the subjects and objects that he recognises within the body and the world. His Chiasme series of sculptures is conceived as a formative platform in which all the phenomena recognised by humans intersect. Hence, the main structural element that Lee uses in his sculptures is an elaborate cross. He says: 

 

“All my sculptures consist of both my story and the story of everyone in the world. It was created through my hands but is simultaneously connected and intersected with all the phenomena of the world. This is because I, too, have already been influenced by everything in the world. Therefore, when my sculptures are placed in front of the viewer, away from their cradle, I hope that they will intersect with the gaze of the viewer and become a new image, a new story that I could not have thought of myself. This is the most significant aspect of my practice.”  

 

The Solaris series follows on from the Chiasme series: a virtual world based on the Solar System is used to express the vastness and diversity of human thought. Lee believes that: 

“To seek the truth is one of the fundamental human desires, nowadays pursued primarily through scientific research. However, a narrow-minded fixation on questions and answers may paradoxically stand in the way of certain kinds of understanding. The world may be something that can never be scientifically understood in its entirety. Therefore, the question arises as to whether it is helpful to obsess over too much objective knowledge. Scientists attempt to understand the world with formulas and theories, but artists express the world with shapes and intuition. In the end, I hope that art will be more respected as one of the ways to fundamentally understand the world.”