About the Object

IW-101 comes across initially as a burst of light, spanning across the canvas from the right side and fading as it moves to the left. This effect was achieved by layering black paint on top of white and then etching away the black paint from desired areas. The concentration of organic line work at the right side removes almost all of the black, creating a stark contrast against areas where the lines are more wispy and sparse.

Additional Information

A celebrated Korean-born artist, Il Lee is best known for his ballpoint pen technique. Born in 1952, Lee moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and later settled in Brooklyn, New York, where he continues to live and work today. Highlighting the process of mark-making, Lee creates etchings, drawings, and oil works characterized by simple yet complex forms. Out of these forms, a movement emerges, which examines the relationship between positive and negative space and, in turn, reflects the forces between serenity and chaos. His gestural lines propose ideas suitable to the intensity, range, and depth of the freely expressed hand, a practice linked to the Korean art of Sumukhwa, a form of ink painting characteristic of a culture whose history proceeds from a traditional, apparently spontaneous activity of great concentration and daily absorption.