Kwangho Lee, a truly talented artist, was born in 1981 in Seoul, South Korea, growing up on a farm, by his grandparents, in the area known as Yong Chong. Strongly influenced by his grandfather, Lee enjoys working with his bare hands, building things for everyday life, his ability for manipulating materials, thus turning them into something useful.
During his upbringing, he spent time learning traditional crafts, from a young age, and
the philosophy this imparted to him, a habit of creating things, educated him in the modest and 'down-to-earth' outlook that exemplify his work in these modern times. He does not, though, do more than develop one piece at a time.
During his upbringing, he spent time learning traditional crafts, from a young age, and
the philosophy this imparted to him, a habit of creating things, educated him in the modest and 'down-to-earth' outlook that exemplify his work in these modern times. He does not, though, do more than develop one piece at a time.
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This also stems from his childhood, spent among the traditions and elements that his grandfather passed on, these being now the creative driving force behindeverything that he does, allowing him to unite art and design with craftsmanship, making unique pieces in small quantities. This remarkable artist never plans, in advance, how to make creative use of a material, instead preferring to adopt more abstract methods, experimentally applying craft to a material, at times.
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One of his amazing projects involves Lee taking plain old styrofoam, sculpting it into objects using a basic working technique, though for larger blocks of this material, he can transform the plain into something amazing, through the introduction of contouring lines and topographical textures, really illuminating the artwork.
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His renowned 'zip' chairs are actually constructed from large sheaves of rice straw, wrapped with belts, something which apparently not only gets people talking, but also conjures up, for Lee, childhood reminiscences of harvesting season, these chairs emulating ones in his favourite playground, among the paddy fields of his grandfather.
Rice straw is something very familiar to Koreans, even those not living on farms, and bundles are often wrapped them with belts, normally used to stabilize boxes or furniture, Lee cuts the top off the sheath, to make it into a stool, calling it 'zip' because that is the Korean word for rice straw.
Rice straw is something very familiar to Koreans, even those not living on farms, and bundles are often wrapped them with belts, normally used to stabilize boxes or furniture, Lee cuts the top off the sheath, to make it into a stool, calling it 'zip' because that is the Korean word for rice straw.
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His latest incredible art works are sculptures depicting cactus plants, specifically created to be realistic in appearance, but also highly tactile, because the artist wants the onlooker to become intimately familiar with his stunning works of art. These are wonderful artistic creations, and this talented young man has undoubtedly got a bright future ahead, for all of us to enjoy.
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