From Virtual Beginnings, Lee Sangsoo’s Spirited Creatures Emerge in Pristine Resin and Steel

Art
Design

#animals
#digital
#Lee Sangsoo
#sculpture

From Virtual Beginnings, Lee Sangsoo’s Spirited Creatures Emerge in Pristine Resin and Steel

May 29, 2024

Kate Mothes

“Rabbit (Pastel)” (2023), pigment on resin, 27 x 26 x 42 centimeters. All images © Lee Sangsoo, shared with permission

With painstaking attention to detail, Lee Sangsoo (previously) renders minimal lines and colorful facets into spirited rabbits, perky cats, and elegant swans. The Seoul-based artist works with digital imaging tools to create virtual mockups of each sculpture before translating them into 3D-printed resin or stainless steel. The raw material is then coated in pastel hues or natural gradients, bringing to life siamese cats or vivid parrots.

Lee is fascinated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the evolving, complex relationship between virtual and physical experiences. He often repeats similar motifs in different colors, playing with the idea of replication and focusing on precision. “As long as people can appreciate and be moved by my ideas and way of expressing them, it doesn’t matter whether they are real or virtual,” he says.

Lee is currently working toward a solo exhibition in the fall and will be unveiling public art projects in Korea, China, and Canada in the coming months. Follow him on Instagram for updates.

“Sitting Siamese Cat” (2024), paint on resin, 35 x 26 x 40 centimeters

“Swan, Head Turned Sideways” (2023), paint on resin, 60 x 30 x 62 centimeters

“Yellow Parrot (Hanging)” (2023), pigment on resin, 25 x 23 x 70 centimeters

“Stretching Cat (Latte)” (2024), paint on resin, 50 x 17 x 46 centimeters

The artist with “Deer on the Rock” (2023), urethane paint on stainless steel, 243 x 98 x 238 centimeters

Work in progress in the artist’s studio

#animals
#digital
#Lee Sangsoo
#sculpture

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