Kangso Lee Solo Exhibition at Daegu Art Museum
A Comprehensive Look from the 1970s to Recent Works
Many Pieces Focus on Process, Not Completion
A Lifetime Devoted to Unconstrained Experimental Art
The retrospective exhibition "Goksuji Yu: The Experiment Continues," which highlights the experimental art world of veteran artist Kangso Lee (age 82), is currently being held at the Daegu Art Museum. Following last year’s exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and a solo show at Thaddaeus Ropac Seoul in June, this exhibition is now being presented to audiences in Daegu. The significance of this exhibition is heightened by the fact that it is being held in the artist’s hometown of Daegu. Kangso Lee has returned to the Daegu Art Museum for the first time in 14 years since the special opening exhibition in 2011. The exhibition features over 130 works, including paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and archival materials.
Interior view of the Kangso Lee Retrospective Exhibition '曲水之遊 Goksu Jiyu: The Experiment Continues' held at Daegu Art Museum. Photo by Seomideum
“Goksuji Yu” is a term derived from an Eastern tradition where people would float wine cups down a stream and compose poems before the cup returned. Just as the wine cup circulates endlessly, the artist’s spirit of experimentation is also seen as endlessly repeating. This exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of Kangso Lee’s artistic journey, from his experimental works of the 1970s to his most recent series.
No Jonggi, director of the Daegu Art Museum and a fellow native of Daegu, commented, “Kangso Lee founded the Daegu Contemporary Art Festival in 1974, bringing experimental art to the forefront of the art scene, which had been dominated by Art Informel and figurative painting. Daegu became the catalyst for the development of contemporary art. This exhibition is significant in that it explores his artistic world in the very city where it all began.”
Kangso Lee was born in Daegu in 1943 and graduated from the Department of Painting at Seoul National University in 1965. He has explored a wide range of media, including painting, installation, photography, video, and sculpture. Without being confined to any particular school or style, he has remained committed to experimental art throughout his career.
Interior view of the Kangso Lee Retrospective Exhibition 'Goksuji Yu: The Experiment Continues' held at Daegu Art Museum. Photo by Seomideum
The exhibition opens with the painting series “The Wind Blows,” which has been presented since 2022. The vibrant colors, a departure from his previous monochromatic works, are particularly striking. The artist confessed, “Color seduced me.” Motifs such as ducks and boats, which are unique to Kangso Lee, are depicted with bold brushstrokes.
The “Chicken Performance,” first presented at the 9th Paris Biennale in 1975, has also been recreated. In the center of the exhibition space, a chicken feed container and a long chicken leash are displayed. Traces of chickens moving around are visible in the plaster powder surrounding the feed container. This radical experimental piece was even featured on French national television in 1975.
The video work “Painting 78-1” (1977) captures the act of painting on transparent glass. Created in 1977 while living in Daegu, this 30-minute piece shot with a camcorder elevates the “process” before the “completion” of a work to the realm of art.
Throughout the exhibition space, sculptural works in the shape of rectangular or cylindrical containers are arranged. They appear to have lost their original form due to gravity or impact, as if they have been randomly tossed aside.
Toward the end of the exhibition, visitors can explore records of various art movements and events that Kangso Lee participated in or led, such as Sincheje, the Korean Avant-Garde Association (AG), Ecole de Seoul, and the Daegu Contemporary Art Festival.
The museum lobby is themed after the artist’s first solo exhibition, “Extinction,” held at Myeongdong Gallery in Seoul in 1973. The scene, where worn tables and chairs from an actual tavern are set up and visitors are served Makgeolli, has been recreated. Menu boards listing dishes such as “Nakji Bokkeum, Jogae Tang, and Dwaeji Galbi” are also on display.
Lee Jungmin, the curator who organized the exhibition, explained, “This exhibition traces the journey of experimentation and expansion in Kangso Lee’s art over the past half-century. I hope it serves as an opportunity to convey the depth and resonance of his experimental body of work, which has fearlessly traversed media and genres.” The exhibition runs until February 22, 2026.
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