ART | Lee Bul Exhibition: "From Me to You, For Us Only"
ART | A Major Solo Exhibition in Japan by Leading Asian Female Artist Lee Bul
Mori Art Museum Presents 'Lee Bul: From Your Soul to Mine'
A solo exhibition by Lee Bul, a leading female artist from Asia, is being held at the Mori Art Museum until Sunday, May 27. This is the world's first large-scale solo exhibition that allows visitors to experience Lee Bul's thought process as she pursues the ultimate body and ideal society, showcasing her early performance works using the body, her series of sculptures depicting beings that transcend humanity, and her recent works inspired by architecture and urban models.
Text by YANAKA Tomomi
A Unique Worldview Woven from History and Personal Narrative
Lee Bul was born in South Korea in 1964 and grew up under military dictatorship. She built her artistic career during a period of rapid modernization and economic development following the declaration of democratization in 1987. While drawing on Korea's political and social history, including coups and revolutions, she has created a unique worldview by exploring ideal societies and utopias and layering her own personal history onto them.
She began to gain international attention in the 1990s, participating in numerous international exhibitions, including the "Projects" series at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1997) and the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (1999). Employing industrial products and materials that symbolize modernism, such as glass, beads, and chains, she uses an overwhelming sense of ornamentation to question the viewer about what constitutes beauty and ugliness.
The current solo exhibition, 'Lee Bul: From Your Soul to Mine,' covers her 20-year career, displaying approximately 45 works, including new pieces. The exhibition space is divided into four sections tracing her artistic journey from early to present works, and a space called the "Studio" where drawings and other works offering a glimpse into her inner world are exhibited.
'Awakening' (detail) / 2001 / Beads, polyurethane, reinforced plastic, stainless steel / 300 x 100 x 150 cm / Exhibition view: 'Real Utopia – Infinite Narratives', 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa / Photo: Jun Nakase / Nakasa & Partners
'Song of the Morning' / 2007 / Aluminum, LED, wire, beads / 400 x φ300 cm / Exhibition view: 'All the World's Futures', Fondazione Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris / Photo: Patrick Gries / Photo courtesy: Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris
Section 1 presents monstrous sculptures that attempt to give form to invisible elements such as the unstable society of the early period and the uncertainty of the future. It then moves on to "Cyborgs" that evoke superhuman bodies, and further to larger-scale works reminiscent of cities and architecture, shifting away from the bodily focus of earlier pieces. This progression suggests the expansion of her artistic endeavors. The final section, Section 4, reveals a return to personal sensibilities, featuring the new work 'Share With Me,' created as an homage to her dog of 17 years. Through these works, one can re-experience what Lee Bul has confronted as an artist.
Lee Bul has consistently questioned the ideal form of society and humanity by referencing various utopian theories, literature, and socio-politics of the 20th century, while simultaneously weaving in Korea's modern history and her own personal narrative. We invite you to explore her thought process as she has sought universal value through her representative works.
'Lee Bul: From Your Soul to Mine'
Dates | Saturday, February 4 – Sunday, May 27 (Open daily)
Hours | 10:00–22:00 (Tuesdays until 17:00)
*Open late until 22:00 on Tuesday, March 20; open until 6:00 AM the following day on Saturday, March 24
*Last admission 30 minutes before closing
Admission | Adults ¥1500, Students (High School/University) ¥1000, Children (4 years to Junior High) ¥500
Venue | Mori Art Museum, 53F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-5777-8600 (Hello Dial)