Lee Kun-Yong

Best known for his inventive and influential performances, Lee has cultivated a practice that also includes painting, sculpture, installation, and video—mediums that often complement his live interventions.

Presented by Pace Live—the gallery’s multidisciplinary platform for live art performances, musical acts, conversations, and other events—Snail’s Gallop is an act of both creation and obliteration. In this work, the artist carefully and methodically traces his journey across a given space, drawing lines to mark his body’s positions and movements. After Lee draws a line, he crosses it in a shuffling motion, erasing part of his mark in the process.

At Pace, the artist will perform Snail’s Gallop atop a 10 x 1.2-meter sized vinyl sheet, which will remain on view in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition. This work reflects a central element of Lee’s performances: communication with the viewer. He continually explores this idea of exchange with each of the different audiences present for his performances of Snail’s Gallop, extending the life of the work beyond its first enactment some 45 years ago.

Lee’s live performance of Snail’s Gallop will take place at Pace’s 540 West 25th Street gallery on Thursday, July 13 at 5:30 p.m., ahead of the opening reception for the artist’s exhibition, which will run from 6–8 p.m. that evening.