Lotus by Seoul-based artist Jaehyo Lee is displayed in New York City’s Union Square Park. Located at the parks’ south eastern triangle, the exhibition will be on view May through October, 2013. Lee exhibits internationally, with recent works included at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Sungkok Museum, Korea, among others.  LOTUS follows Lee’s signature use of Korean big-cone pine. For this work, the artist meticulously carved, shaped, burned the individual wood elements attached to a steel armature that stretches 12 feet high. 

 

Lee’s sculptures have caught the attention of international audiences, like they did in Korean Eye, which premiered during the Olympic Games, and originated at the Museum of Arts and Design in 2011 – 2012.  His conspicuous use of natural materials and steel remain his primary media, including hardwoods, bamboo, and leaves; he also incorporates steel spikes in an unusually complicated process of elegant patterning in charred wood. The artist has gained an international reputation for innovative sculpture, in both functional and non-functional approaches, and has been the subject of numerous auction highlights, including the recent Sotheby’s New York private sale, Hunters & Gatherers.