[MZ Generation's Beloved Artist] Lee Eun-hwang
Unprecedented Sold-Out Solo Exhibition
Mostly Purchased by Young Audience... Sales via SNS
"A Work of Recognizing Others to Find Myself
Thinking More About Life Than Art"
[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The main object (material) in writer Lee Eun-hwang’s (50, pictured) ‘Inner Gaze’ series is ‘glasses.’ In the work ‘listen to Inner gaze (2021),’ a person wearing headphones is seen wearing yellow glasses and turning away. Looking closely at the lenses, the glasses are swirling. Is it a metaphor for the dizzying outside world, or does it symbolize the complexity of the human inner self? In the same context, are the densely lined glasses in the background the gaze of others or the persona one has hidden?
When asked about the meaning of glasses, Lee Eun-hwang recalled his elementary school days. He said, “I remember that even though my eyesight wasn’t bad, I pretended it was and begged my mother to get me glasses,” adding, “I wore them even though they made me dizzy to hide my small eyes.” For him, glasses were a tool worn not so much ‘to see well’ but ‘to look good.’ Lee Eun-hwang revealed, “I think there was a psychology of being conscious of others’ gazes, wanting to hide myself yet also wanting to stand out,” and added, “I became interested in glasses because I thought our lives are no different from this.”
What Lee Eun-hwang wants to express through glasses is ultimately the life lived by the existence called ‘I.’ The ‘I’ defined by others or the environment beyond the glasses, and at the same time, the ‘I’ who has observed them through the lenses. At the entrance of Lee Eun-hwang’s studio in Namyangju, there is a phrase written: “When I work, I do not think about art. I try to think about life.” This is a quote from the American genius graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960?1988). Lee Eun-hwang said, “I am attempting work that recognizes myself and others, our surroundings living from the past to the present, and through this reflects on the meaning of the existence called ‘I.’”
Lee Eun-hwang has been actively producing works with three solo exhibitions and seven group exhibitions this year. In July alone, he held a solo invitational exhibition at Changui Moon Ddeul, a hanok gallery in Buam-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and a group exhibition ‘Urban Break 2021’ at COEX. This year, his works have received significant attention especially from the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), achieving an unprecedented sell-out. There are many orders from collectors who have not yet purchased his works, and sales through the gallery continue even after the exhibitions have ended.
“I am feeling the unprecedented boom in the art market recently. Most buyers are young people in their 30s and 40s. Unlike existing collectors, they do not collect just based on the fame of famous artists. Perhaps because they are a generation interested in art and raised in such an environment, they seem to choose artists and works they like under comfortable conditions. Many also purchase for gifts or home interior purposes.”
Besides galleries, Lee Eun-hwang posts his works on social networking services (SNS) such as Instagram and Facebook. His Instagram followers number around 4,000. He said, “My first sales on SNS were on Facebook, and later I also conducted private sales through Instagram,” adding, “Currently, when inquiries come in, I connect them all to the gallery.”
The reason he entrusts his works entirely to galleries is to focus fully on his work. He also trusts the collector networks that galleries have. Lee Eun-hwang explained, “If I don’t go through a gallery, I have to handle systems outside of my work such as online and offline promotion, connecting with collectors, and transporting works,” adding, “There may be limits to securing a broad and diverse collector network, so I prefer galleries where mutual respect and trust have been established.”
Lee Eun-hwang is busy preparing for the ‘Korea International Art Fair (KIAF),’ the largest domestic art fair opening on the 15th of next month. In November, he will exhibit works at the Daegu Art Fair. Next year, he plans to exhibit at the Gallery Art Fair and Art Busan, and hold solo invitational exhibitions at Art Space H Gallery in June and at Artree Gallery in November. Lee Eun-hwang said, “In the unprecedented pandemic, I want to be an artist who reads a world of comfort and hope and sings in my own way,” adding, “Becoming an artist who earnestly tells stories of life?that is my small but diligent plan of activity.”
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