The Heart of My Machine is Golden Lead
June 26–August 30, 2026
Mire Lee’s large-scale installations are often composed of leaking mechanisms and quasi-organic structures that appear to drip and decay. Deliberately broken motorised elements seem to strain under their own operation, resisting the seamless efficiency associated with contemporary technological aesthetics. At the Secession, the otherwise crisp floor bears traces of a viscous substance that spreads and flows from a slanted wall, coagulating into dense, crusted formations. The obstructing element serves as a barrier, concealing a huge cement mixer that rotates sluggishly behind it. It appears less like a tool than a body in distress, caught in a state of compulsive repetition. Here, boundaries begin to dissolve: between the human and the mechanical, the soft and the rigid, interior and exterior, past and present, the familiar and the eerie. What emerges is not a stable opposition but a constant slippage, a state of ongoing transformation.
Mire Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988 and lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Seoul.
Programmed by the board of the Secession. Curated by Haris Giannouras.
Mire Lee’s solo exhibition is presented simultaneously at Secession and the Korean Cultural Center Austria. The presentation at the Korean Cultural Center, under the title Women I loved, includes a selection of the artist’s film works and is open to the public Tuesday–Sunday, 12–6pm. Fragments of the exhibition at Secession will become part of a site-responsive work at Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, later in 2026.
The exhibition has been made possible by the Samsung Foundation of Culture. The accompanying publication is funded by the Korean Cultural Center Austria. Additional support has been provided by the Arts Council Korea and the Mondriaan Fund.
Secession would like to thank a circle of supporters who have generously committed to this exhibition: Sprüth Magers, Tina Kim Gallery, Kursawe Foitzik Hohlweg Rechtsanwälte, Yurica Eun Hee Jeon, Changro Im (President of Euroscope), Sobang Yoo (Chief Executive Officer SBU & Partners), Callie’s, and Palfinger AG.
Publications
The exhibitions are accompanied by publications. The digital publications are available for free here.
Press contact: presse@secession.at / press materials
