Lee Sung-keun
- Born
- 1954 · Seoul.
- Nationality
- Korea
- Occupation
- painter
- Fields
- installation artwork
In this article
Key facts
• Name — Lee Sung-keun
• Birthplace — Seoul, South Korea
• Field — Installation art
Key facts
• Hangul — %이성근
Lee Sung-keun (Korean: 이성근 born 1954 in Seoul is a South Korean artist.
Biography
Lee Sung-keun (pronounced: Lee Sung-Gun) was born in 1954 in Seoul where he currently lives and works.
He graduated from Hongik University, where he has been teaching fine arts in parallel to his personal practice and the consultation work he does for the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Korea.
Artwork
His renowned Human+Love+Light mobile, composed of multi-coloured, cloud-like suspensions made from metallic threads and silicone, was shown on center-stage at the exhibition Korea now! at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris as part of France-Korea Year.
Building a bridge between man and nature, Lee's work is a perfect illustration of the concept of vital energy 气 (Qi), which is omnipresent in the artistic culture of Eastern Asia. He creates sculptures of primordial shapes that, at first sight, evoke human cells or the notion of fertility. Made out of entangled piano wires, which the artist sometimes brightens up with vivid colors; they establish a dialogue between fullness and emptiness while sustaining the resonance of their initial role. Once suspended in air, the vibrating play of light on the sculptures, and the apparent fusion with their surroundings into one symbiotic unity, bring the ovoid shapes to life. The inner core of Lee SungKeun's artworks can be resumed to their title: Human + Love + Light.
His exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris in a group show celebrated 120 years of friendship between France and Korea (Korea Now). His artworks are found in collections including those of the National Contemporary Museum of Korea and the Triennale of Milan, the latter via the Korean Embassy in Beijing.
Selected solo art exhibitions
• 2015/ Henry Beguelin installation(Human+Love+Light) (Henry Beguelin, Seoul)
• 2013/ Mother & Child (Human+Love+Light) (Old Tobacco Processing Plant, Chungju)
• 2011/ Metal art installation (GT tower, Seoul)
• 2010/ Human+Nature+Light (Tornabuoni arte, Milano)
• 2009/ Human+Love+Light (Triennale Museum, Milano) 2009/ Human+Love+Nature (Hannover Messe, Hannover)
• 2008/ Human+Love+Light (LIH, seoul)
• 2008/ Human+Love+Light (Scola Gallery, Shanghai)
• 2008/ Human+Love+Light (T Gallery, Seoul)
• 2007/ Human+Love+Light (Euro Gallery, Seoul)
• 2007/ Human+Love+Nature (Mayo) (Korean Cultural Center, Beijing) 2006/ Human+Love+Light (The Korean Embassy, Beijing) 2006/ Human+Nature+Light (Gallery Artside, Seoul)
• 2006/ Human+Love+Light (space HaaM, Seoul)
• 2005/ Human+Love+Light (Space GAYA, Milano)
• 2004/ Human+Nature+Light (Euro Gallery, Seoul)
• 2003/ Human+Nature+Love (Baeksang Memorial Hall, Seoul)
• 2002/ Human+Love+Light (Baeksang Memorial Hall, Seoul)
• 2001/ Human+Nature+Love (Villa Romana Art Center, Florence)
• 2001/ Human+Love+Light (Baeksang Memorial Hall, Seoul)
• 2000/ God+Human+Love+Light (Baeksang Memorial Hall, Seoul) 2000/ God+Nature+Love+Light (Gibo Art Center, Rece) 1999/ Human+Love+Light (Centro D’Arte La Loggia, Florence) 1997/ God+Human+Nature+Love (Hoam Art Hall, Seoul) 1997/ God+Human+Nature+Love (Hoam Art Hall, Seoul)
• 1996/ the 7th solo exhibition (Yeroo Gallery, Jeonjoo)
• 1996/ the 6th solo exhibition (Posco Art Museum, Seoul)
• 1991/ the 3rd solo exhibition (Roho Gallery, Berlin)
• 1989/ the 2nd solo exhibition (Total Art Gallery, Toronto)
• 1988/ the 1st solo exhibition (Park, RyuSook Gallery, Seoul)
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Lee Sung-keun, revision 1360452712 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record.
Selected museum collections
• Triennale Museum (Milano, Italy)
• National Museum of Contemporary Art (Seoul) - Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul) - Hongik Univ. Contemporary Museum (Seoul)
• Posco Museum (Posco Co., Ltd. Seoul)
• McGuire Fine Art Center (Rhode Island)
• SSamzie Space (Seoul)
• GS Tower (Seoul)
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 27 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
17,838 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Lee QuedeArtist
- Lee QuiñonesArtist
- Lee San-haeArtist
- Lee SimonsonArtist
- Lee Tse-fanArtist
- Lee UfanArtist
- Lee WeissArtist
- Leela MukherjeeArtist
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Lee Sung-keun?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.