Selection
Return 2502, Return 2501
Lee HunChung2026.05.15 ~ 2026.08.11
Description of the work
- Media acrylic on canvas
- Location LOTTE HOTEL SEOUL MAIN TOWER 1F
“Acts that move from the heart to the fingertips, free from expectations of outcome, release the memories accumulated within my body and allow me to repeat a kind of spiritual journey.” — Lee Hun Chung
For Lee, “journey” signifies not physical movement but an ongoing exploration of material, space, and sensation. His practice unfolds through an intuitive engagement with clay, pigment, and touch, shaped by the balance between freedom and restraint, memory and gesture. The sensory language of clay—formed between unconscious play and deliberate control—extends into another realm through color.
Moving fluidly between intellect and emotion, order and chaos, Lee’s work captures moments where inner rhythm meets material form. He builds surfaces as he would clay: placing dots, drawing lines, and accumulating gestures through repetition. His paintings, informed by ceramic thinking, are performative rather than narrative, echoing the rhythm of the hand at the wheel. Across painting, ceramic sculpture, vessels, and furniture, repetition becomes both method and philosophy, linking paint and glaze, painting and ceramics, into a continuous material language.
For Lee, “journey” signifies not physical movement but an ongoing exploration of material, space, and sensation. His practice unfolds through an intuitive engagement with clay, pigment, and touch, shaped by the balance between freedom and restraint, memory and gesture. The sensory language of clay—formed between unconscious play and deliberate control—extends into another realm through color.
Moving fluidly between intellect and emotion, order and chaos, Lee’s work captures moments where inner rhythm meets material form. He builds surfaces as he would clay: placing dots, drawing lines, and accumulating gestures through repetition. His paintings, informed by ceramic thinking, are performative rather than narrative, echoing the rhythm of the hand at the wheel. Across painting, ceramic sculpture, vessels, and furniture, repetition becomes both method and philosophy, linking paint and glaze, painting and ceramics, into a continuous material language.
About the author
Lee Hun Chung works across ceramics, sculpture, furniture, installation, architecture, and painting, exploring the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary sensibility. Rooted in ceramic practice, his multidisciplinary approach bridges materiality, space, and philosophical inquiry. Lee received a BFA and MFA in Ceramics from Hongik University, completed an MFA-equivalent program in Sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute, and later undertook doctoral studies in Architecture. He has participated in major international exhibitions, including presentations at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and received the inaugural Craftsman of the Year Award from the Korea Craft & Design Foundation in 2018.
His works are held in prominent public and private collections, including the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea.
His works are held in prominent public and private collections, including the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea.
Lee HunChung (1967-, Korea)
BFA, Dept. of Ceramics, College of Fine Arts, Hongik University, Seoul
MFA, Dept. pf Ceramics, College of Fine Arts, Hongik University, Seoul
MFA, Dept. of Sculpture, San Francisco Institute, San Francisco
PhD, Dept. of Architecture, Gachon University, Seoul
MFA, Dept. pf Ceramics, College of Fine Arts, Hongik University, Seoul
MFA, Dept. of Sculpture, San Francisco Institute, San Francisco
PhD, Dept. of Architecture, Gachon University, Seoul
