Exhibition Information

			The exhibition will present Lee Sang-won's latest work(2019-2020). Some 50 selected works were produced from 2019 to the first half of 2020. Artist Lee Sang-won tried to work on the theme of 'soil' from 2018 and announced the first exhibition title '歸土'(2019).
Despite his old age in his mid-80s, he is still on a journey of creation.
The new work consists of earthenware pottery, millstones and ancient books. These materials are covered with soil as if they had just been dug up by archaeologists at the excavation site. Of course, it is a scene directed by a painting.
The red color and soft texture of the red clay used as part of the material evokes warm and deep emotion. The shape of the pottery is somewhat sloppy and humorous. However, there is still a strong and heavy energy that can be said to encompass the entire work of artist Lee Sang-won
Artist Lee Sang-won used a specific object to express soil that does not have a particular shape. These objects, which have become materials, are quite old and are expressed as if they were older in painting. This is the way the author tried to reveal the long traces of time inherent in the soil.
The exhibition will be divided into two parts: the first part and the second part
In the first part, masterpieces(100), including ceramics and millstones, will be displayed, while in the second part, relatively small works(25,50) featuring ceramics. old books and shabby shoes will be displayed.
In particular, the ceramic works of this new work were expressed in rich colors to make people forget the simple form. The oil and soil and water are used to produce rich pictorial movements. Artist Lee Sang-won,  who has shown abstract figures since 2018 when he began "soil work", has not completely eliminated the form in his new work, but shows that he his taking a step further from abstract play and free attempts.
'Soil' is the home, source, and place where humans live on their feet. This exhibition is an artist's tribute to the soil, which has enormous existential implications but is always next to us in various forms.

This new work is the simplest form of work that Lee Sang-won has been working on so far. As a hyperrealist painter, the author, who has expressed complex panoramic views (net, harness, tire tracks that are treaded on snow), and old age figures with wrinkles and gray hair in detail, made a big change in his work.
The fact that the artist is over 80 years old may explain this change as natural, but it would be more reasonable to say that the change in perspective of the artist looking at and expressing the object was revealed as a formative change.
It can also be said to be related to 'soil'. The soil is simple, heavy, unwavering and encompasses many things as everyone feels. Not fancy, not revealing oneself. For such works as a tribute to the soil, the artist also left behind the techniques, descriptions and expressions that persistently reveal objects.
The description and form of the painting disappeared, and the natural sense of color and brush touch took over the remaining place. We can enjoy painting expressions without having to recognize the paintings painted by artist Lee Sang-won as pottery or millstone. It adds a soft texture to the use of soil. There is a play of color, shape and texture called the essence of painting. In addition, the work has a heavy and warm feeling. There may be a lot of reasons and meanings for the soil, but the artist conveys a sense of time and space through the painting. It is necessary to convey the meaning and sensibility of the middle class through the 'act of seeing' in the moment. Therefore, in order to deliver a strong message through a compressed image, artist Lee Sang-won may have adopted materials that he has been feeling desperate and persistently expressed them.
Now painter Lee Sand-won wants to approach the source more and chose soil as a medium for the source. In order to express its affection and love, he put down the description and used an abstract screen, as if we were silent after the story. Just as a person who has been running fiercely can truly relax and play lightly at the end, isn't this new work a natural change for an old artist in painting art?

[Source] lswmuseum homepage