Page 12 - 이헌국 조형예술 55년전 한전아트센터 2025. 9. 18 – 9. 26

As contemporary art moves away from purely visual expression and toward multisensory, conceptual, and
participatory forms, traditional classifications become insufficient. The term “plastic arts” or “sculptural arts”
has emerged to describe works that involve not only sight, but also touch, sound, space, and narrative. These
terminological changes reflect the need to accommodate evolving forms of contemporary art.

All artists work with themes—whether repeated or constantly evolving—but what ultimately defines an artist
is their way of seeing and interpreting the world. It is within this framework that their artistic vision is born and
cultivated.

To examine the many stages of Professor Lee’s career is to gain insight into the development of modern
Korean ceramic art.

In the early years, he experimented by painting or embossing on ceramic surfaces, deliberately deforming
traditional vessel forms. Over time, these forms shed their functional origins and became organic in shape.
Later, the previously recurring bulbous volumes began to deflate, hinting at the human figure. By 2012, his
works included fully formed portrait busts. Having long explored the viscosity and pliability of clay, Professor
Lee now turns toward new approaches.

The work titled “A Journey of 110 Years” signals the dawn of yet another chapter. Composed of ceramic
shards from sixty years ago and a vessel from fifty years ago, the work reimagines an extraterrestrial habitat
on Mars. When I first encountered this piece, I was reminded of Julian Schnabel’s iconic plate paintings.
The arrangement of ceramic fragments as a pictorial field suggested to me that a significant transition was
underway in Lee’s practice.

Unlike Schnabel’s deliberately rough textures, Professor Lee meticulously smooths and refines the edges of
each fragment, creating a tactile softness. This careful treatment of the surface reveals his deep sensitivity
to materiality and texture—his focus on tangibility and plasticity. While Schnabel’s works can be considered
paintings despite their three-dimensionality, Lee’s works transcend painterly concerns and assert themselves
as sculptural entities. This emphasis on physicality stems from his roots in shaping and firing clay—craft born
of earth and fire.

Even the arduous process of scraping away layers from already-fired surfaces speaks to Lee’s pursuit of
tactile intimacy. His works are inscribed with what may be called the “memory of the hand.” The primordial
relationship between hand and clay is ever-present. Perhaps this is why his works emanate warmth and
organic vitality. The clusters of hollowed-out voids, quietly resonating through the shards, suggest living

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