Lee Ungno
(1904-1989)
‘Abstraction stems from expressive freedom’. This quotation from Lee Ungno (이응노) reflects the key to his artistic approach.
Born in 1904 in Korea, he began learning the art of calligraphy at a very young age. He perfected the technique in Japan where he lived between 1937 and the end of the Second World War.
When he returned to his native country in 1945, he taught calligraphy until he moved to France. Fascinated by abstract art, he began experimenting with new pictorial vocabularies in 1960 in Paris. His abstract collages were exhibited in Seoul in 1962; local critics saw his work as a revival of traditional Korean painting. His approach, which straddled Eastern and Western art, breathed new life into Korean art in the 1960s, which was very traditional.
Lee Ungno exhibited his work in Germany, the United States, Switzerland, France, Belgium, England, Korea, Japan, Brazil, and so on. His works are in many public collections, such as those of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the National Museum of Modern Art in Rome, and the Museum of Fine Art in Tokyo.
Personal exhibitions
—2023 – « 120th anniversary of Lee Ung-no », Lee Ungno Museum, Daejeon and National Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Seoul, South Korea
2022 – « Lee Ung-no : Between Two Worlds », Galerie Vazieux, Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2021 – « Four Seasons », Lee Ungno Museum, Daejeon, South Korea
2018 – The Korea Society, New York, USA
– « People », Gana Art Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
2017 – Lee Ungno: A Man of the Crowd, Cernuschi Museum, Paris, France
1989 – Hoam gallery, Seoul, South Korea
– Cernuschi Museum, Paris, France
1988 – Bruno Facchetti Gallery, New York, USA
– Indeco gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1987 – Chosun Art Museum, Pyongyang, North Korea
1986 – Bruno Facchetti Gallery, New York, USA
1983 – Del Naviglio gallery, Milan, Italy
1981 – Sanyo Gallery, Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan
1979 – Monnaie de Paris Museum, Paris, France
1978 – Fine Art Museum, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
– Cernuschi Museum, Paris, France
1977 – Koryo gallery, Paris, France.
1976 – Arras gallery, New York, USA
– Shinsegae gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1975 – Bristol City Art Gallery, Bristol, UK
– Hyundai gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1974 – Wenger Gallery, San Francisco, USA
1973 – New Smith gallery, Brussels, Belgium
1972 – Querini Stampalia Foundation, Venice, Italy
– Cultural Center, Toulouse, France
1969. – Paul Facchetti gallery, Paris, France
1967 – Numaga gallery, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
1966 – National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
1964 – Numaga gallery, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
– Max Kaganovich gallery, Paris, France
1963 – Cantonal Museum, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
1962 – Paul Facchetti gallery, Paris, France
1960 – International Gallery of Modern Art, Washington DC, USA
1959 – Prestel gallery, Frankfurt, Germany
– Germany Clubhouse Musenhof, Köln, Germany
1958 – Central Office of Public Relations, Seoul, South Korea
1955 – Cultural Center, Daejon, South Korea
1946 – Dongah gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1939 – Hwashin department store, Seoul, South Korea
