Lot 1562: LEE JAE SAM

LEE JAE SAM
(B. 1960)
Dalbit (Moonshine); Dalbit (Moonshine); & Dalbit (Moonshine)
signed in Korean; dated '2008' (lower left); signed in Korean; dated '2008' (lower right); signed in Korean; dated '2008' (lower right); signed 'JAE SAM LEE' in English; dated '2008' (on the reverse of each work)
three charcoal on canvas
each: 90 x 162 cm. (35 3/8 x 63 3/4 in.) (3)
Painted in 2008 (3)

Lee Jae Sam questions the real essence of the subject that can perhaps be found only in what we cannot see on the surface through his profoundly penetrated background as he preserves his firm faith in the inner light in a very minimal proposition; primary object, centrally located against a starkly contradicting background of empty darkness.

The infinite space behind the branches and horses echoes the depth of Lee's intense concentration on his diligent shadowing of the forest with his adroit use of charcoal as his painterly medium. Nurturing its dry qualities into smooth, moist layers, the subtle balance of proximity and distance exhibits the divine harmony of the physical world. As his relationship with the medium increasingly deepens, he cultivates and mediates the essence of existence, while his bravura handling of charcoal corrects its institutional purpose as a sketch medium by excavating the enigmatic beauty of charcoal in absorbing light in contrast to acrylic and oil that reflects light.

Lee knowingly consumes this eminence fully in Dalbit Moonshine (Lot 1701) by planting strong branches to extend extravagantly into the atmospheric shadows. While the compact mass of night creates a limitless depth of space, like a black hole, the whistling leaves shimmer like constellation in celestial sphere, tracing the enigmatic spirit of the living and breathing tree. The initial impression of Dalbit Moonshine (Lot 1562) appear seemingly dull with a still-cut frame, but with gradation of tone and sensitivity to the shifting quality of light and atmosphere, it begins to amend our exterior perception as we find ourselves numb in transcendental awe by the cosmic illumination of the moonlight that pulsate life and form to these horses.

Lee's respect for the phenomenal mystery of nature is also adeptly portrayed with his conscientiously depicted horses in three different characteristics, perhaps redolent of the diversity and unpredictability of nature, insinuating its immeasurable power and his sacred belief that nature is all there is and all basic truths are truths of nature. As reality itself is confined, it is changing and elusive as the mystifying charm of living creatures that mirrors the self-consciousness of the artist.