born in 1956, Cheongdo, South Korea
Lives and works in Paris, France
Based in Seoul and Paris, Lee Bae focuses on the expressive potential of charcoal as a medium. Over the course of nearly three decades, Lee has dedicated himself to creating a diverse range of iterations of Korean painting through his use of charcoal and abstract forms that are self-sufficient and rich in spiritual and energetic qualities. By exploring immanent notions such as yielding, respiring, and circulation, which are embodied by charcoal as a material, Lee's work resonates with themes of life and death, absence and presence, light and shadow, form, and emptiness. Lee's oeuvre spans a wide range of mediums and forms, from drawings to canvas-based works, as well as installations, with each new work serving to expand upon his unique vision and approach. With an international reputation, Lee’s works have been featured at museums and institutions world- wide including Phi Foundation, Montreal; Wilmotte Foundation, Venice; Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul de Vence; and Musée Guimet, Paris. Lee’s work is in the permanent collections of many museums including the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MMCA), Gwacheon; Seoul Museum of Art (SEMA), Seoul; Leeum-Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul; Horim Museum, Seoul; Paradise Art Space, Incheon; Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul de Vence; Musée Guimet, Paris; Musée Cernuschi, Paris; Baruj Foundation, Barcelona; Privada Allegro Foundation, Madrid; Medianoche Foundation, Granada; and Phi Foundation, Montreal.