Lee Kun-Yong: Striking a Match

Korea-based artist Lee Kun-Yong is known for his performances that reimagine the ways that the body and its movements can be understood across time. Considered a key figure of the AG (Korean Avant-Garde Association) as well as a founding member of the ST (Space & Time) group, Lee has cultivated his highly experimental practice since the 1970s, enacting performances that consist of simple, repeated physical actions that produce varied marks. One such performance, Striking a Match, involves pouring a book of matches on the table, striking and burning them one by one. Organized in celebration of the artist’s 50-year career, Lee Kun-Yong: Body as Thought brings together key historical archives and paintings to explore Lee’s decades long inquiries into “the body and logic.” Documentation of Striking a Match and other performances features in Lee Kun-Yong: Body as Thought, on view at our gallery in Seoul through March 28.