Installation view of 《(no)thing》 © Gallery Hyundai
Gallery Hyundai presents a solo exhibition 《(no)thing》 by artist
Myoung Ho Lee, on view through December 20.
For the past two decades, Myoung Ho Lee has used photography to
explore the boundaries between photography and painting, representation and
reproduction, and presence and absence. This exhibition traces the expansion of
his practice into historical and social dimensions through new series.
The exhibition centers on ‘Kiribati’ (2026), a series documenting
the Pacific island nation whose land and communities are threatened by rising
sea levels due to climate change, and the ‘Heritage’ series (2024–2026), which
captures a pagoda tree that has stood within the Seonwonjeon Hall of Deoksugung
Palace.
Bringing together approximately thirty recent works, the
exhibition includes photographs, images in which forms have been meticulously
cut away, and large-scale works on canvas.
Installation view of 《(no)thing》 © Gallery Hyundai
‘Kiribati’ and ‘Heritage’ encompass two distinct temporal
perspectives. While ‘Kiribati’ evokes the prospect of future loss through
landscapes threatened by rising sea levels, ‘Heritage’ looks back upon the
accumulated layers of history through a pagoda tree that remains standing on
the site of Seonwonjeon Hall at Deoksugung Palace, where the architecture
itself has long since disappeared.
Together, the two series allow us to anticipate future absence
through what exists in the present, while recognizing present existence anew
through what has been lost to the past. In doing so, they reveal presence and
absence as inextricably intertwined.
Installation view of 《(no)thing》 © Gallery Hyundai
Ultimately, Lee’s work invites us to reconsider what it means to
see, where the boundary lies between what is visible and what remains unseen
yet perceptible, and how these questions might lead us toward a deeper
reflection on our own existence and that of the world around us.
Meanwhile, Lee’s solo exhibition 《Between or Beyond Act and Scene》 is also
being held at Savina Museum during the same period. This research-oriented
exhibition traces the development, transformation, and expansion of his
Photography-Act Project, which has been ongoing since 2004.
Through key series spanning his early works to more recent pieces,
the exhibition highlights the questions and methodologies Lee has developed
throughout his practice. The exhibition runs through December 13.
