Lee Bae (b. 1956, Cheongdo, South Korea) is regarded as one of the most influential Korean artists on the international stage today, and is widely considered a leading figure in the post-Dansaekhwa generation, having successfully propelled Korean traditional aesthetics into a global contemporary discourse.Lee’s practice is defined by an austere formal language that nonetheless carries an intense bodily presence. In Brushstroke K14 (Lot 24), from his signature Brushstroke series, the artist transforms carbon powder into a richly textured medium, leaving decisive, rhythmically charged traces across the paper surface. In Untitled (Lot 27), a canvas work executed in 2016, he further develops this language through the layering of acrylic and carbon ink, generating a translucent sense of depth. The resulting black geometric forms appear to hover within a threedimensional space, dissolving the boundary between painting and sculpture, and embodying the East Asian philosophical notion of the interdependence of void and form (xu shi xiang sheng). Lee Bae’s artistic achievements have received significant international recognition. He has been awarded the“Artist of the Year” by the National Museum of Modern
and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), as well as the Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur in France. His works are held in major public collections worldwide, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Seoul; Leeum Museum of Art; Seoul Museum of Art; the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts, Paris; the Musée Cernuschi; and the Museo del Prado, Madrid. In 2024, he was invited to present a major solo project during the Venice Biennale, further affirming his ability to translate a deeply rooted Eastern philosophy into a universal visual language that transcends cultural boundaries.