The Korean artist discusses his artistic process and his move from black to blue ink as part of his ongoing Brush series, with the upcoming solo exhibition, “Control in Spontaneity”, at Ode to Art

The brush, which is the very tool for calligraphy or painting, is the subject of Korean artist Lee Jung Woong’s artworks of oil paint on hanji, or Korean rice paper. He takes inspiration from the theme of his previous series of still-life paintings featuring traditional motifs of Korean culture such as pottery, flowers, and stationery, including the Four Treasures of the Study [mun bang sa u (문방사우) in Korean culture, and wén fáng sì bǎo (文房四友) in Chinese culture], an expression used to denote the brush, ink, paper and inkstone used in East Asian calligraphic traditions.

“I thought that the brush, ink, paper and inkstone, each in itself could be art, and they could be broken down into the process of the artwork itself,” says Lee, who became so fascinated with brushes that it led him to research on their different flexibilities, thickness and textures. He eventually amassed a collection so huge that he lost count.

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“Then one day, as I was staring at my huge row of brushes hanging in my studio, I realised that the brush itself should take centre stage in my body of work. I wanted to use a brush to paint a brush,” says Lee. It was in the year 2000, when brushes become the subject of his artworks. “The brush became a spiritual bridge, an anchor that connects all intangible elements of the work in the artistic dimension, to me, the artist. The brush is a tangible manifestation of the one who wields the brush. This way, the intangible—mentality and spirituality underlying the abstraction in my work—becomes one of reality.”

When he first started his Brush series, ebony ink was used. However, there was a limit to the nature of material to express the oriental texture and dreamy smudging by existing East and West inks/paints. A few years later, “I naturally wanted to include colours containing emotional preferences in my work. I have been fascinated by the colours of nature such as the river and the sky since the construction of my art studio in Gapyeong [Gyeonggi Province, South Korea]. I think unconsciously, I was influenced from the time when I lived on the seafront in my hometown of Ulleungdo [an island east of mainland South Korea] and I have been familiar with the blue colour of the sky and sea since young,” Lee shares.

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Above Lee Jung Woong Space & Art in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea (Image: Daryl Eng Jun)
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Above Lee Jung Woong in his studio (Image: Daryl Eng Jun)

Ironically, black ink was chosen to explore the subject, after which blue paint was studied to express the subject. It took Lee nearly 10 years to manufacture and show the blue works to his audience. “I can’t tell you the exact process of the blending, but the East and West inks/paints are evenly mixed,” he explains.

Gallerist Jazz Chong, founder and director of Ode to Art, says, “In my many years of friendship with Lee Jung Woong, I see in his works the gentleness and quiet confidence so characteristic of the artist himself. Each bold stroke of ink echoes his composure and emulates the ataraxy conferred by the boundless lake and sky surrounding his suburban studio space.”

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Lee’s signature style to trompe l’oeil painting comes from a distinctive visual approach. “I wanted to break down the irreconcilable boundaries that we perceive through the dichotomous aspects of abstraction and hyperrealism.” And this can be seen in his upcoming solo exhibition, Control in Spontaneity, at Ode to Art, where “I have created a new kind of visual freedom”.

Chong explains, “With the establishment of his studio, I witnessed the gradual transformation in Lee’s style catalysed by this shift in environment—a predominant blue vehemently finds its way into his newest body of work featured in this exhibition.”

The exhibition will feature 15 new works as part of Lee’s latest Brush – Blue series.

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Above Ode to Art founder Jazz Chong with the artist in his studio (Image: Daryl Eng Jun)

And it is perhaps Lee’s need to put incompatible elements in one place, blur the boundaries, and find freedom in them that informs his body of work. “I hope that everyone who sees my work will find freedom, as the hyper brush and abstract image denote the outside and inside of things,” he says. “I hope to remain the artist of spirituality of the East, the freedom through the dichotomy of control and spontaneity, not an artist of Western materiality. And I also want to be an artist who knows only art.”

Control in Spontaneity by Lee Jung Woong runs from October 7 to November 7, at Ode to Art (01-36E/F Raffles City Shopping Centre).

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