입력 2025.10.15 09:39
- October 22 – November 2, Sejong Museum Gallery Halls 1 & 2
Sejong University (President Eom Jong-hwa) will hold a retirement exhibition for Professor Kanghwa Lee of the Department of Painting from October 22 to November 2 at Sejong Museum Gallery Halls 1 and 2.
The exhibition, which encapsulates Professor Lee’s artistic journey, explores the intersection of nature, humanity, memory, and emotion through painting. It will feature monumental works, including large-scale, irregularly shaped canvases measuring 10m, 6m, 5m, and 4m in length, as well as other major pieces created in deep communion with nature. The scale and immersive quality of these works evoke Claude Monet’s iconic Water Lilies series, offering visitors not just a visual appreciation but an experiential encounter with painting itself.
Professor Lee graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Western Painting and earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in plastic arts at Université Paris 8 Vincennes–Saint-Denis in France. Over the past 23 years, he has served as a professor at Sejong University’s Department of Painting, dedicating himself to both creative work and the education of future artists.
His works reinterpret everyday natural landscapes and objects—such as wildflowers, tidal flats, wind, and light—through lyrical yet powerful colors, elevating the interaction between nature and humanity into an artistic dimension. This exhibition will also present object-based works using distinctive materials such as leather bags, iron chairs, and traditional Korean jangseung totem poles.
In addition to key works from different periods, newly created pieces incorporating AI-based media art will also be on display throughout the gallery. These works reinterpret traditional painting through a contemporary visual language, offering an immersive artistic experience.
Throughout his career, Professor Lee has held 47 solo exhibitions and participated in numerous major domestic and international shows. His works are included in the collections of leading institutions such as National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea and Seoul Museum of Art.
This retirement exhibition reflects decades of artistic exploration into nature, life, memory, and emotion. It also celebrates Professor Lee’s academic and creative contributions, which have left a significant mark on contemporary Korean painting.