Critically acclaimed and widely exhibited, IL Lee's ballpoint pen work has been the subject of a retrospective at the San Jose Museum of Art and solo exhibitions at the Queens Museum of Art and the Vilcek Foundation in New York. His work has, also, been featured at the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian Museum of Art and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea. Currently on view through September 26, 2010, is a solo exhibition at the Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, TX.
© Art Projects International
For the full Artist Biography, download the PDF below.
IL LEE
- Born in Seoul, Korea. Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
EDUCATION
M.F.A. in Painting, Pratt Institute, New York
Pratt Graphics Center in Printmaking, New York
B.F.A. in Painting, Hong-Ik University, Seoul, Korea
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas, TX
Il Lee: Small Drawings 2001-2010, Art Projects International, New York, NY
Il Lee, Gebert Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Il Lee, The Vilcek Foundation, New York, NY
Il Lee: Ballpoint Drawings, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY
Il Lee: Ballpoint Abstraction, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
Il Lee: Ballpoint Works 1980-2006, Art Projects International, New York, NY
Il Lee: New Work, Art Projects International, New York, NY
Paris/New York: Il Lee, Galerie Gana-Beaubourg, Paris, France
Il Lee: New Drawings and Paintings, Art Projects International, New York, NY
Il Lee - Line and Form: Drawings 1984-1996, Art Projects International, New York, NY
Il Lee: Recent Paintings, Gallery Woong, Seoul, Korea
Recent Paintings of Il Lee, Gallery Han Kook, Seoul, Korea
Recent Paintings, Haenah-Kent Gallery, New York, NY
Works on Paper by Il Lee, Gallery TE, Tokyo, Japan
Il Lee, Space-311 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Works on Paper by Il Lee, Space Gallery, Seoul, Korea
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
INK, Inc., Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas, TX
Architecture and Abstraction, Gensler, New York, NY
Faces & Facts, Korean Culture Service NY, New York, NY
Paper and Process 2, Art Projects International, New York, NY
Asian Art Archive Annual Auction, Sotheby's, Hong Kong
On, Of or About: 50 paper works, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Art HK 09 (Gebert Contemporary), Hong Kong
Unknown Territory, Art Projects International, New York, NY
Infinite Line, BRIC Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Black, White & Red All Over, Michele Mosko Fine Art, Denver, CO
The Mountain, Art Projects International, New York, NY
Close to Home, curated by Elisabeth Akkerman, Block Party, Brooklyn, NY
Above & Beneath, curated by Cynthia Thompson, Memphis College of Art, TN
Two-Person Show, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
FALLAYAVADA: Bahc Yiso Project and Tribute, University of California, Irvine, CA
Paper and Process, Art Projects International, New York, NY
NextNext Art, curated by Dan Cameron, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY
Open House, curated by Charlotta Kotik and Tumelo Mosaka, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Size Does Matter, Boreas Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
SFIAE (Art Projects International), Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
Marking: Drawings by Contemporary Artists from Korea, The Korea Society, New York, NY
Ten Years 1993-2003:Art Projects International, Art Projects International, New York, NY
Linear Investigations, Alpan Gallery, Huntington, NY
Ballpoint Inklings, K.S. Art, New York, NY
Routes of Influence, Art Projects International, New York, NY
New Acquisitions 2001, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Kwachon, Korea
Reaction, Exit Art, New York, NY
Confluence of Cultures, Schafler Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Footsteps since 1997, Steuben East Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
40 years of Korean Contemporary Printmaking, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Kwachon, Korea
Contemporary Art of Korea, Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, Mexico and Kum Ho Museum, Seoul, Korea
Commemorative Exhibition of the 25th Seoul Olympic Games, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Kwachon, Korea
The 6th India International Triennial, New Dehli, India
Korea-New York '86, Thorpe Intermedia Gallery, Sparkill, NY
Korean Contemporary Prints Now-Then, Ho-Am Museum, Seoul, Korea
Seoul International Drawing Biennale 84, The Art Center, Seoul, Korea
Contemporary Korean Painting, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
7th British International Print Biennale, Cartwright Hall Gallery, Bradford, UK
Korean Drawing Now, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY and Smithsonian Museum, Washington, DC
PUBLICATIONS / CATALOGUES
- Leffingwell, Edward. IL LEE: New Vision – Ballpoint Drawings. Exhibition catalogue, reproductions. New York: Art Projects International, 2010.
- Farver, Jane, Yu Jin Hwang, and Judy Kim. Faces & Facts: Contemporary Korean Art in New York. Exhibition catalogue, reproductions. New York: Korean Culture Service NY, 2009.
- Armstrong, Charles K, et al. The Korean Wave, As Viewed Through the Pages of The New York Times 2007. Reproduction. New York: Korean Cultural Service NY, 2008.
- Kleinberg, Joanna. IL LEE: Ballpoint Drawings. Exhibition brochure, reproduction. New York: Queens Museum of Art, 2007.
- Northrup, JoAnne, and Edward Leffingwell. IL LEE: Ballpoint Abstractions. Exhibition catalogue, reproductions. Foreword by Susan Landauer. San Jose: San Jose Museum of Art, 2007.
- Bakke, Erik. IL LEE: New Work. Exhibition brochure, reproductions. New York: Art Projects International, 2006.
- Thompson, Cynthia. Above & Beneath. Exhibition brochure, reproductions. Memphis, TN: Memphis College of Art, 2006.
- Wei, Lilly. Paris-NewYork: IL LEE. Exhibition catalog, reproductions. New York: Korean Cultural Service NY, 2005.
- Gould, Philip. Il Lee: New Drawings and Paintings. Exhibition catalogue, reproductions. New York: Art Projects International, 2004.
- Kotik, Charlotta and Tumelo Mosaka. Open House: Working in Brooklyn. Exhibition catalog, reproduction. New York: Brooklyn Museum of Art, 2004.
- Sale, Teel and Claudia Betti. Drawing: A Contemporary Approach, 5th edition. Reproduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2004. (also 6th edition, 2008)
- Sanders, Jung Lee, ed. Art Projects International: Ten Years Reproductions. New York: Art Projects International, 2003.
- Gould, Philip. Contemporary Korean Painting. Exhibition catalogue, reproduction. Bronxville, NY: Sarah Lawrence College, 1982.
- Work on Paper by Lee, Il. Exhibition catalog, reproductions. Seoul: Space Art Gallery, 1982.
- Baro, Gene. Korean Drawing Now. Exhibition catalogue, reproduction. New York: Brooklyn Museum, 1981.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY / REVIEWS
- Simek, Lucia. “Il Lee’s Large Ballpoint Pen Drawings Harness a Powerful Quiet.” D Magazine (Dallas), June 7, 2010. Reproductions.
- Brody, David. “Contrapuntal Infinitudes: Il Lee at Art Projects International.” artcritical (New York), June 1, 2010. Review, reproduction.
- Gaynor, Emily. “Emily Gaynor on IL LEE: Small Works 2001-2010 at Art Projects International.” The Drawing Center News, The Bottom Line (New York), March 30, 2010. Review, reproduction.
- Abatemarco, Michael. "Painting with Paper Mates." Pasatiempo (Santa Fe), August 7-13, 2009. Cover article, reproductions.
- Chung, Joon Mo. “Il Lee.” Shindonga (Seoul), September 2008. Reproductions.
- Lee, Sun-Hwa. “Il Lee at the Vilcek Foundation, New York.” Art in Culture (Seoul), July 2008. Review, reproductions.
- Museums: Exhibitions in the Americas. Art Asia Pacific Almanac 2008 (New York), vol. 3, 2008.
- Voelz Chandler, Mary. “Captivating Simplicity.” Rocky Mountain News (Denver), January 9, 2008. Reproduction.
- Grant, Michael. "Best Art Shows 2007." Metroactive (Silicon Valley), December 19, 2007.
- Genocchio, Benjamin. “Queens Museum of Art; ‘IL LEE: Ballpoint Drawings.’” The New York Times, September 7, 2007.
- Clarkson, Lamar. “A Few Good Pens.” ARTnews, (New York), September 2007. Reproduction.
- Nam, Jeongho. "Snowflakelike Ink Recalls a Distant Constellation, Foliage, or Stones," Joongang Ilbo, reproduction, Seoul, August 13, 2007.
- “Il Lee,” The New Yorker, New York, August 13, 2007.
- Genocchio, Benjamin. “To See the World in Ballpoint Pen,” The New York Times, review, reproduction, New York, August 10, 2007.
- “Il Lee: Ballpoint Drawings,” Time Out New York, New York, July 26, 2007.
- Baker, Kenneth. “Ballpoint Abstractions in San Jose.” San Francisco Chronicle, review, reproduction, San Francisco, July 7, 2007.
- “New This Month in U.S. Museums,” artnet, New York, July 1, 2007.
- Chung, Joon Mo. “Il Lee at San Jose Museum of Art,” Wolgan Misool, reproduction, Seoul, vol. 268, May 2007.
- Van Zandt, Jack. “Ballpoint Abstractions,” San Jose Inside, review, San Jose, April 12, 2007.
- Wykes, Sara. “Beauty in Ballpoint: Distinctive Doodles by Il Lee are Collected in an Impressive Exhibit at S.J. Museum of Art.” The Mercury News, review, reproductions, San Jose, April 1, 2007.
- Kim, Hong Ki. “Vast Universe Drawn with Ballpoint Pen.” Art in Culture, preview, reproductions, Seoul, March 2007.
- “Il Lee Ballpoint Abstractions at the San Jose Museum of Art.” Wolgan Misool, preview, reproduction, Seoul, vol. 266, March 2007.
- Gant, Michael S. “Whirls Enough and Time: Il Lee does Wonders with a Humble Ballpoint Pen.” Metro Silicon Valley, review, reproduction, Silicon Valley, March 14-20, 2007.
- Zimmerman, Heather. “Drawn In: Artist Il Lee Puts Pen to Paper—and Canvas—in a Unique Way.” Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, review, reproduction, Silicon Valley, March 14, 2007.
- Goodman, Jonathan. “Il Lee, Chun Kwang-Young and Lee Ufan: International Abstraction, Generational Trajectories.” Art AsiaPacific, reproduction, New York, no. 51, Winter 2006.
- Leffingwell, Edward. “Il Lee at Art Projects International,” Art in America, reproduction, New York, October 2006.
- Park, Sukie. “Il Lee.” The Korea Daily, reproductions, May 17, 2006.
- Bakke, Erik. “Just what is it that makes Il Lee’s art so different, so appealing?” Art in Culture, reproductions, Seoul, vol. 7, no. 4, April 2006.
- Wei, Lilly. “Beyond the Minimal,” Art in Culture, reproduction, Seoul, vol. 7, no. 4, April 2006.
- Knowles, Carol. “Where It’s At: New York artists chart body, mind, and spirit in Above & Beneath,” Memphis Flyer, review, Memphis, March 23-29, 2006.
- Koeppel, Fredric. “Looking into Above & Beneath,” The Commercial Appeal, review, Memphis, March 10, 2006.
- Goodman, Jonathan. “Il Lee at Art Projects International,” Art AsiaPacific, review, reproduction, New York, no. 42, Fall 2004.
- Maine, Stephen. “Dateline Brooklyn,” Artnet, review, reproduction, New York, May 26, 2004.
- Chung, Shinyoung. “Marking: Drawings by Contemporary Artists from Korea,” Art AsiaPacific, review, New York, no. 40, Spring 2004.
- Malhotra, Priya. “A Week of Surprises,” Asian Art News, reproduction, Hong Kong, vol. 14, no. 1, January/February 2004.
- Harrison, Helen A. “All about the Delicacy and Energy of the Line,” The New York Times, review, reproduction, November 23, 2003.
- Halle, Howard. “Making a Big Scene,” BKLYN, reproduction, New York, Fall 2003.
- McNatt, Glenn. “Korean Art, with a Western Twist,” The Baltimore Sun, May 28, 2003.
- Bakke, Erik. “Il Lee, Line and Form: Drawings 1984-1996,” Space, review, reproduction on cover, Seoul, vol. 354, April 1997.
- Kingsley, April. “Il Lee/Art Projects International,” Review, review, New York, February 1, 1997.
- Guest, Robert. “Soda Bottles, a Turtle Ship and Minjung,” ARTnews, February 1994.
- Suh, Jeung Gul. Wolgan Misool, review, reproduction, Seoul, June 1993.
- Park, Woo-Chan. Space, review, reproduction, Seoul, no. 308, June 1993.
- Raynor, Vivian. “12 Korean Artists Show at Thorpe,” The New York Times, reproduction, February 16, 1986.
- “New Face: Recent 8 Drawing Works of Il Lee,” Space, Seoul, October 1982.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
- San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California
- National Museum of Contemporary Art, Kwachon, Korea
- Total Museum, Seoul, Korea
- Han Lim Museum, De Jeon, Korea
- Hong-Ik University, Seoul, Korea
- Duk-Sung Women’s University, Seoul, Korea