Korean Cultural Center New York Presents the Major Exhibition “Lee Kang So: A Field of Becoming”

On view May 13 – June 20, 2026

Opening Reception: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 (6-8 PM)

Gallery & Atrium at the Korean Cultural Center New York

NEW YORK, May 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Korean Cultural Center New York (KCCNY) presents a special exhibition of Lee Kang So (b. 1943), who has established a distinctive and influential practice within the trajectory of Korean contemporary art. Since the 1970s, he has worked across a wide range of media—including photography, painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation, and performance—consistently resisting fixed forms to investigate the conditions through which art comes into being.

Rather than approaching the artwork as a finished object, Lee focuses on the moment of emergence and the shifting contexts in which meaning is formed. His practice reflects an understanding of the world not as a fixed entity, but as something continuously shaped through change, interaction, and relation. The exhibition title, A Field of Becoming, encapsulates this central philosophy.

This inquiry first took shape in Lee’s performances and installations of the 1970s, several of which are presented in the exhibition. During this period, he created situations in which action, material, and environment interact, questioning the role of authorship and intention. These works unfold as processes rather than predetermined outcomes, shaped by the dynamic interplay of multiple forces.

From the 1990s onward, these ideas evolved into more materially grounded forms in sculpture and painting. His sculptural works—often using clay, ceramic, and metal—foreground the roles of gravity, material properties, and chance. Forms emerge through accumulation, collapse, and settlement, revealing both the inherent behavior of materials and the passage of time.

His paintings similarly emphasize process over representation. Through repetitive gestures and fluid lines, Lee explores how bodily movement and sensory experience are inscribed onto the canvas. The animals and objects that appear in his work do not function as fixed symbols, but rather emerge from rhythmic actions, transforming the surface into a field imbued with energy and duration.

Lee’s connection to New York provides an important context for this exhibition. He was active in the United States in the 1980s and participated in the Studio Artist Program at MoMA PS1 in the early 1990s, engaging with the city’s experimental art scene.

Presented at KCCNY’s expanded venue, this exhibition is not simply a return, but a renewed encounter with a place that shaped the artist’s development. If his earlier experiences in New York defined the direction of his work, this exhibition marks a moment in which those accumulated reflections meet the city’s present landscape.

About the Artist

Lee Kang So received his BFA from Seoul National University and emerged in the early 1970s as part of Korea’s experimental art movement. Since then, he has exhibited extensively in Korea and internationally, with solo exhibitions at institutions such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Daegu Art Museum, and Musée d’art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Étienne, as well as galleries including Gallery Hyundai and Thaddaeus Ropac.

Lee has also participated in major international exhibitions and biennales, including presentations at Tate Modern, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the São Paulo Biennale. His work is held in prominent public and private collections worldwide, such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Lee currently lives and works in Anseong, Korea.

About the Korean Cultural Center New York

The KCCNY is a branch of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea inaugurated in 1979 to establish and promote Korean culture in New York. We provide diverse cultural and artistic activities including gallery exhibitions, performing arts programs, film festivals, educational workshops, and more, offering a place of experience and learning.

Located at 122 E 32nd Street in New York, KCCNY serves as a cultural hub in the heart of the city, near Manhattan’s Koreatown. The seven-story center offers a comprehensive platform where audiences can encounter Korea’s rich heritage as well as its dynamic contemporary culture, fostering dialogue, creativity, and cross-cultural exchange.

For more information, visit www.koreanculture.org and follow @kccny on Instagram.

For inquiries: Dr. Bora Yoon (Manager, Visual Arts), b.yoon@koreanculture.org

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SOURCE Korean Cultural Center New York