Stainless steel bolts, nails and wood
65,7 x 20,5 x 20,8 in (167 x 52 x 53 cm)

Lee Jae-hyo was born in 1965 in Hapchen, Korea. He graduated from Hong-ik University with a Bachelor's degree in Plastic Art. Lee assembles natural materials such as wooden logs, branches and leaves into three-dimensional works which have elegant forms and also convey a strong contemporary mood. He has a very distinctive way of manipulating form, not just through molding but by cutting, in a way totally un-compromised by the natural shape of the original material. Through the use of wood and metal, Jaehyo Lee produces immaculately formed, intricate sculptures that reveal a mastery of his materials and a winking, sophisticated wit. Lee eschews traditional distinctions between the fine and applied arts and makes both functional and functionless works, presenting benches, stools, and tables alongside abstract, biomorphic forms. Working with these basic materials, Jaehyo performs simple albeit labor-intensive operations, in particular, with nails in charred wood. The nails protrude in a perfectly measured surface, their heads bent in strategic directions so that the overall impression is one of movement and changing depth with each nail looking like a mark on paper. His art as has opened up a new distinctive direction in contemporary Korean art. He has held many solo exhibitions in Korea, Japan, China, the United Kingdom and the United States. With awards including the Grand Prize of Osaka Triennial (1998), Young Artist of the Day presented by the Ministry of Culture of Korea (1998) and Prize of Excellence in the 2008 Olympic Landscape Sculpture Contest. His works are widely appreciated and adored by art collectors in Asia, Europe and the Americas.