About the artist:

Prof. Lee, Doo-shik (Ph.D.) belongs to the most important and influential artists of South Korea. He was born at Yeongju in 1947 and studied Fine Art at the Hongik University/ Seoul in the 1960ies. Numerous exhibitions in Asia, America and Europe have made him well- known all over the world. In the 1990ies, his works were shown as part of a group exhibition in Germany for the first time. At the moment Prof. Lee is dean of the department of Fine Art at the internationally famous Hongik- University. It is obvious that his opinion is highly regarded when looking at his employment as official commissioner of the South Korean foreign Ministry for Art Affairs. Galerie artodrome is proud to present his first Solo exhibition in Germany in its exhibition hall. About his work: Prof. Lee, Doo-shik has intensively studied Western Art and let himself be influenced by western impulses without neglecting elements of the Eastern art tradition. Lee, Doo-shik began his career in the 1960ies with hyperrealistic pencil drawings and watercolours (“Prayer of Life”- series) – though this was quite unusual in the times of the upcoming Informal. However, he continued in the mid- 80ies with the series called “Urban Festivals” moving towards the Art of Abstraction. Dense centers of colors over which fine lines are laid characterize is further works. The Art Critic Gwang Soo Oh describes this series as an artistic liberation of an inner energy which is penetrated with life. Reminding us of musical outbursts - the passionate compositions of Beethoven´s music might be a good comparison- the colors come with vehemence out of the dense center of form and color and spread their intensity in a homogenous oscillation in the periphery of the painting. His bold, but sometimes also consciously slowed- down brush strikes with lines that move forwards and backwards are based on the traditional techniques of Asian Oriental Painting. In any case, there are many elements of traditional Asian elements in Lee´s works: the compositions of his works are based on the Korean color theory of Oh Bang Saik with its five primary colors (red, blue, yellow, black and white) and harmoniously connect it with Dan Chungs, the traditional design in architecture. In this way, Lee adopts a singular art concept by melting traditional Buddhist elements of composition with the laws of modern painting in an artistic form of expression which harmoniously combines tradition and progress. Lee´s current working period- described as his “Goldes- Age”-phase by many critics- is the consequent development of his “Urban Festivals” – series. The paintings of his most recent series called “Festivals” exist without any title and prevail with more moderate colors than their predecessors. The compositions express a breathlessness where the artistic spontaneity corresponds with the swiftness of our time. Here also, the artist aims at a harmony between the traditional and the modern element that is marked by a clear artistic tradition and an almost explosive creativity. Lee, Doo-shik was already honored with a Special Price of his country at the National Art Exhibition in 1968. In 1988, he received the price of the Sun Art Group, in 1995, he was given the “Order of Cultural Merits” of South Korea and in 2005, he received the “4thAward of Moonsin Fine- Art”.