Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now

M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK) in Hong Kong, proudly presents Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now, a sweeping survey of acclaimed contemporary artist Lee Bul. Co-organised with Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, Korea, this Special Exhibition is co-curated by Doryun Chong, Artistic Director and Chief Curator, M+, and June Young Kwak, Head of Exhibitions, Leeum Museum of Art; with support from Sunny Cheung, Curator of Design and Architecture, M+, and Heyeon Kim, Curator, Leeum Museum of Art. It is generously supported by M+ Lead Partner and exhibition Lead Sponsor HSBC, the M+ Lee Bul Friends Circle, and the Korea Foundation. 

Born in South Korea, Lee emerged in the late 1980s with works that critically engaged with the country’s shifting sociopolitical landscape. Over the following decades, she forged a multidisciplinary practice spanning sculpture, installation, and two-dimensional art. With her ever-expanding artistic language, Lee’s consistently ambitious work offers incisive insights into the past and present of humanity while envisioning new possibilities for the future. Her practice reflects a distinctive ability to translate abstract concepts into mesmerising artworks that have earned her worldwide recognition. 

The exhibition opens with an immersive landscape, anchored by architecturally scaled sculptural installations from Lee’s Mon grand récit series (2005–ongoing). These complex works invite reflection on the grand narratives of modernity and the aesthetics of failed utopias. Complementing these installations are two-dimensional artworks, including selections from the Perdu series (2016–ongoing) and the Willing to Be Vulnerable–Velvet series (2016–ongoing). Together, these works articulate a dynamic interplay between organic and industrial materials, echoing the artist’s exploration of the complex relationships between history, politics, and personal memory in modern society. 

The show then turns to Lee’s earlier works, which established her international reputation in the early 2000s. Her Cyborg series (1997–2021) reconfigures what seems to be classical statues with futuristic enhancements, symbolising humanity’s enduring desire to transcend physical limitations through technology. Meanwhile, the Anagram series (1999–2015) merges natural and biomechanical elements into hybrid forms, questioning conventional notions of perfection.  

The final section probes Lee’s creative process, featuring around one hundred drawings and dozens of maquettes—works that serve both as independent artworks and as studies for her sculptures, installations, and wall-based pieces. This section offers visitors a rare glimpse into the artist’s mind, where she transforms her philosophical reflections and imaginative concepts into art. 

Throughout the exhibition period, public events and tours allow audiences to further explore Lee’s creative landscape. In addition, M+ Cinema presents Lee Bul: Early Performances, a free-of-charge programme that showcases her early performance works from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. These films are screened on a continuous loop at House 3. For more information, please visit mplus.org.hk. 

Expanding on the exhibition, the monograph Lee Bul: Life and Work, published by Thames & Hudson in collaboration with M+, offers an in-depth investigation into Lee’s art. 

Lee Bul (South Korean, born 1964) is one of the foremost Korean artists of her generation. She broke with her academic training (BFA in sculpture from Hongik University, Seoul) to establish her early reputation with provocative, genre-defying works, considering themes of the female body, beauty, and decay. Since the early 2000s, her art has engaged with notions of utopian modernity, the historical avant-garde in art and architecture, and the desire to reinvent the world. Lee’s works have been showcased in major institutions around the world, including Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.