Lee Bul is a contemporary artist from South Korea, whose artistic practice spans the mediums of sculpture, painting and performance, video and installation. Considered as one of the foremost Asian artists to emerge from the international art scene in the 1990s, she represented South Korea in the 1999 Venice Biennale. Her work has been exhibited at museums throughout the world including the Vancouver Art Gallery; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Fondation Cartier, Paris; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; The Power Plant, Toronto; New Museum, New York; and The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Drawing upon her early experiences of living under a military dictatorship, her work reflects images of totalitarianism, alongside contrasting aspirational visions of utopian architectural designs. Exploring issues that range from societal gender roles and the perceived failure of idealism to the relationship between humans and technology, she produces genre-crossing works rooted in critical theory, art history and themes explored in science fiction. This is a comprehensive monograph presenting her most iconic works over the last 30 years, from documentation of early performances and colourful works on paper to staggering recent installations. Taking visual cues from the pop-cultural forms of anime and manga, her art is both striking and accessible. This survey will include an illustrated interview investigating her life, aims and influences with essay contributions from Yeon Shim Chung, Michael Amy and Laura Colombino.
