[2026 Frieze LA] Lee Kwang-Ho

Lee Kwang-Ho studied painting at Seoul National University and continued his graduate studies there, balancing classical painting techniques with contemporary experimentation. He has consistently explored the boundaries between sensation, perception, and narrative through the traditional medium of painting. Lee’s works incorporate the visual language of photography and cinema, culminating in distinctive pictorial grammar. In 2006, he was nominated as a finalist for the Castellón International Painting Prize in Spain, which supported progressive tendencies in contemporary painting and intermedia experimentation. The same year, he presented the project 《Inter-View》 at the Changdong Art Studio in Seoul, a body of work combining interviews, photography, and painting, visually documented personal memory and social identity, expanding the potential of the painting medium. In his subsequent works featuring cacti, deserts, nightscapes, and wetlands, Lee has continued to investigate spatial perception and sensory flow. In his recent 《Blow-up》(2023–) project, inspired by the wetlands of New Zealand, he recomposes fragments of place and the flow of gaze across divided canvases, developing a tactile and spatial reflection in painting.

Lee has held solo exhibitions in various venues, including Johyun Gallery, Busan, South Korea; Kukje Gallery, Seoul, South Korea; and Changdong Studio Gallery, Seoul, South Korea; and has participated in group exhibitions at Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea; Busan Museum of Art, Busan, South Korea; Gana Art Center, Seoul, South Korea; and Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom. His works are included in prestigious collections including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Seoul, South Korea; Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea; Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea; and Deji Art Museum, Nanjing, China.