Michael Werner Gallery, London, in collaboration with Gallery Hyundai, Seoul, is pleased to present Invisible Questions That Fill the Air: James Lee Byars and Seung-taek Lee, an exhibition of works by American artist James Lee Byars (b. 1932, d. 1997) and Korean artist Seung-taek Lee (b. 1932), curated by Allegra Pesenti. This exhibition marks the first time the works of these two artists are brought into dialogue, highlighting a like-mindedness of vision and spirit.
Both artists were born in 1932. Byars in Detroit, an industrial town struggling during the Great Depression. The early, formative years of his career were spent in Japan, where he immersed himself in the study of the ceramic arts, papermaking, calligraphy, Noh theater, and the aesthetics of Shinto and Zen. The cultural traditions and ceremonies of Japan greatly shaped his artistic development and concerns around beauty, truth, and the concept of the perfect.
Lee was born in a small town in the Northern province of a then unified Korea under Japanese rule. Japan had an outsized influence on Korean culture due to the occupation from 1910 to 1945, but Lee subverted this influence, seeking to create art that was distinctively Korean but also in conversation with international art movements. Lee’s “non-sculpture” utilizes natural materials and Korean folk objects, including tree branches, stones, briquettes, and earthenware jars. Placed on a pedestal or bound and hung with rope and wire, the objects are removed from their original function and elevated to the status of art.
Byars and Lee never met, but the aesthetic similarities in their art warrants closer examination. Invisible Questions That Fill the Air: James Lee Byars and Seung-taek Lee will present six decades of work by the two artists. Rooted in nature, history, philosophy, and tradition, each artist created vital work that continues to inspire generations of younger artists.
James Lee Byars has been the subject of numerous museum exhibitions worldwide, including The Palace of Good Luck, Castello di Rivoli / Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin (1989); The Perfect Moment, IVAM Centre del Carme, Valencia (1994); The Palace of Perfect, Fundaçao de Serralves, Porto (1997); Life Love and Death, Schirn Kunsthalle and Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg (2004); The Perfect Silence, Whitney Museum of American Art (2005); 1/2 an Autobiography, MoMA PS1, New York and Museo Jumex, Mexico City (2013-2014); The Golden Tower, Campo San Vio, Venice (2017); The Perfect Kiss, Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp (2018); and The Perfect Moment, Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing (2021). Upcoming exhibitions include a major survey that will open at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan in October 2023 and travel to Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid in April 2024.
A pioneer of the Korean Avant-Garde with a career spanning over a half century, Seung-taek Lee’s work is held in the collections of museums worldwide, including the Tate Modern, London; the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Seoul; the M+ Museum, Hong Kong; the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; and the Seoul Museum of Art, among others. Lee’s work has been included in major recent group exhibitions at the Gwangju Biennale (2023); the MMCA, Seoul (2023); the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2022); the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2019); and the National Gallery, Singapore (2019). In 2020, a major retrospective survey of Lee’s work was held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul. Upcoming exhibitions include Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s at the Guggenheim in New York.
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled”, 1956
Wood, rope
28 x 6 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches
71 x 16.5 x 16 cm
LEE 6
James Lee Byars
“One Stroke Painting”, ca. 1958
Ink on Japanese paper
17 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches
44.5 x 44.5 cm
JBZ 354
James Lee Byars
“The Black Stone”, ca. 1958-1959
Lacquered stone
5 x 10 1/4 x 9 1/2 inches
12.5 x 26 x 24 cm
JB 0/B
James Lee Byars
“Self-Portrait” ca. 1959
Painted wood, bread
Six parts, overall:
65 x 13 x 78 1/2 inches
165 x 33 x 199.5 cm
JB 1/A
James Lee Byars
“Untitled (Black Figure)”, ca. 1959
Painted wood
2 3/4 x 16 x 138 inches
7 x 40.5 x 350.5 cm
JB 1/Q
James Lee Byars
“Untitled”, ca. 1959
Ink on Japanese paper
24 3/4 x 24 3/4 inches
63 x 63 cm
JBZ 308
James Lee Byars
“Untitled”, ca. 1959-1960
Painted wood
11 x 7 1/2 x 11 inches
28 x 19 x 27 cm
JB 0/Q
James Lee Byars
“Untitled”, ca. 1959-1960
Painted wood, twine
Two parts
One: 41 x 5 x 3 1/2 inches
104 x 13 x 9 cm
One: 52 1/4 x 7 3/4 x 3/4 inches
133 x 19.5 x 2 cm
JB 0/S
James Lee Byars
“Untitled”, ca. 1960
Ink on Japanese paper
24 3/4 x 24 3/4 inches
63 x 63 cm
JB 0/O
James Lee Byars
“Untitled”, ca. 1960
Ink on Japanese paper
9 x 68 3/4 inches
23 x 177 cm
JBZ 292
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled”, 1962/2020
Earthenware, glaze
74 1/2 x 13 inches
189 x 33 cm
LEE 20
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled”, 1965/2020
Briquette, earthenware
11 3/4 x 6 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches
30 x 17 x 53 cm
LEE 4
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled”, 1971
Ink on canvas
24 1/2 x 38 1/2 inches
62.5 x 97.5 cm
LEE 11
James Lee Byars
“The Wings for Writing”, ca. 1972
Dyed feathers, silk, thread
Two parts, each:
19 x 32 3/4 inches
48 x 83 cm
JB 7/F
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled”, 1972-1973
Rope on coloured canvas
45 x 31 3/4 inches
114 x 80.5 cm
LEE 10
Seung-taek Lee
“Tied Book”, 1976
Book, rope
10 3/4 x 10 3/4 x 2 inches
27 x 27 x 5 cm
LEE 8
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled (Non-Painting)”, 1979
Paper (from antique book), rope, wooden frame
18 x 22 1/2 x 2 inches
46 x 57 x 5 cm
LEE 2
Seung-taek Lee
“Wind (Paper Tree)”, ca. 1980-1989
Mulberry Hanji paper, tree branches
Five parts, dimensions variable
LEE 12
James Lee Byars
“The Moonbook”, 1980
Bernese sandstone
Two parts, each:
1 1/2 x 16 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches
4 x 41 x 29 cm
JB 27/5
Seung-taek Lee
“Two Hills (Non-sculpture)”, 1980
Granite
11 x 21 1/4 x 24 1/2 inches
28 x 54 x 62 cm
LEE 19
Seung-taek Lee
“Tied Stone”, 1981
Stone, wire
10 1/4 x 7 x 2 inches
26 x 18 x 5 cm
LEE 17
Seung-taek Lee
“Tied Stone”, 1981
Stone, wire
9 1/2 x 7 x 2 3/4 inches
24 x 18 x 7 cm
LEE 18
Seung-taek Lee
“Paper Installation”, 1981
Paper, rope
Dimensions variable
LEE 24
Seung-taek Lee
“Dance”, 1983
Hair on canvas
39 1/4 x 31 1/2 inches
100 x 80.5 cm
LEE 14
James Lee Byars
“Untitled”, 1988
India ink on gold paper
20 1/4 x 20 1/4 inches
51 x 51 cm
JBZ 113
Seung-taek Lee
“Earth Performance”, 1989
Oil on photo montage
42 1/2 x 34 1/4 inches
108 x 87 cm
LEE 13
James Lee Byars
“The Sphere with Stairs”, 1989
Blue African granite
Diameter:
9 3/4 inches
25 cm
JB 93/E
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled (Tied Stone)”, 1991
Stone, wooden frame, rope, steel wire
27 1/2 x 23 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches
70 x 59 x 8.5 cm
LEE 3
James Lee Byars
“World Flag”, 1991
Gold lamé
161 x 85 x 6 inches
409 x 216 x 15 cm
JB 143
James Lee Byars
“Spongeman”, ca. 1991-1992
Sponges
Six parts, overall:
31 1/2 x 19 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches
80 x 50 x 50 cm
JB 151
James Lee Byars
“Self-Portrait”, 1992
Stone, 24 carat gold sphere
5 3/4 x 12 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches
14.5 x 32.5 x 24.5 cm
JB 152/A
James Lee Byars
“Portrait of the Artist”, 1993
Gold leaf on paper
Three parts, each:
30 1/4 x 21 3/4 inches
77 x 55 cm
JB 157
James Lee Byars
“Eros”, 1993
Gold pencil on black Japanese paper
26 3/4 x 67 inches
68 x 170 cm
JBZ 190
James Lee Byars
“Eros”, 1993
Gold pencil on black Japanese paper
Two parts
Small circle, diameter: 6 1/2 inches (16.5 cm)
Large circle, diameter: 25 inches (63.5 cm)
JBZ 191
James Lee Byars
“The New Moon”, 1993
Gold pencil on Japanese paper
Seven parts, each:
19 x 9 1/2 inches
48 x 24 cm
JBZ 195
James Lee Byars
“The Jade Shoes”, 1993-1994
Jade
Two parts, each:
7 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches
19 x 44.5 x 6 cm
JB 203/1
James Lee Byars
“TLADOJLB (The Life and Death of James Lee Byars)”, 1994
Gold pencil on red Japanese paper
15 1/4 x 78 3/4 inches
39 x 200 cm
JBZ 233
James Lee Byars
“Slit Moon”, 1994
Thassos marble
1 1/2 x 7 x 15 3/4 inches
4 x 18 x 40 cm
JB 190
Seung-taek Lee
“Tied Stone”, 1996
Stone, wire
7 3/4 x 19 1/4 x 9 inches
20 x 49 x 23 cm
LEE 9
James Lee Byars
“The Chair for the Philosophy of Question”, 1996
Antique Tibetan chair, gilded
63 x 63 x 46 inches
160 x 160 x 117 cm
JB 172
Seung-taek Lee
“Tied White Porcelain”, 2017
Lacquer spray paint on porcelain
12 x 12 inches
30.5 x 30.5 cm
LEE 5
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled”, 2017
Rope on canvas
118 x 52 inches
300 x 132 cm
LEE 21
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled”, 2017
Rope on canvas
118 x 52 inches
300 x 132 cm
LEE 22
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled”, 2017
Rope on canvas
118 x 52 inches
300 x 132 cm
LEE 23
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled”, 2017
Rope on canvas
55 x 72 3/4 x 3 3/4 inches
140 x 185 x 9.5 cm
LEE 16
Seung-taek Lee
“Untitled”, 2018
Hair on canvas
21 3/4 x 27 3/4 inches
55.5 x 70 cm
LEE 15
