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끊임없이 실험적 작업을 해온 현대미술가 이강소(Lee Kang-So, 1943~)는 서울대 회화과를 졸업하고 파리비엔날레 (1975), 상파울루 비엔날레(1977)에 출품, 영국 테이트 미술관 단체전, 경주선재미술관 개인전(2003), 대구미술관 어미홀(2011), 갤러리현대(2009), PKM (2011) 등 다수의 국내외 주요 미술관 및 갤러리에서 전시를 하였으며 현재 국립현대미술관(한국), 호암미술관(현 리움미술관), 금호미술관, The International Museum of 20th Century Arts & Cultural Center(미국) 등에 소장되어 있습니다. 이강소 작가는 자신의 생각만을 표현하고 고집하는 것이 아니라 작업을 만드는 과정을 통하여 끊임없이 사유하며, 보는 이가 작품과 소통하는 길을 제시하고 있습니다.

Lee Kang-so(born 1943) is a key figure in the history of Korean conceptual art. Lee mainly created performance-based works in the 1970s, however during the 1980s he shifted his focus to media including painting, pottery, and photography. He is best known for his abstract, near-monochromatic paintings. Like many Korean artists from this era, Lee, Kang-So was influenced by European and North American schools; specifically Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and Conceptualism. In addition to his Pop Art prints, Lee produced large scale conceptual installations. Lee understood that it was one goal to master foreign technique, but more important to create an identity for Korean contemporary art. To synthesize the East and West, Lee returned to painting, the most well respected art form in Asia, and continued to delve into the depths of conceptualism. Inspired by contemporary movements while honoring tradition without appearing too conservative, Lee Kang So began a series of monochromatic, abstract seascapes while diluting oils and acrylics to emulate ancient Oriental ink painting. Lee’s intent was to pay homage to naturalism. Naturalism in Asian art differs from the Western definition in that it refers to nature and not realism. Motifs of ducks, boats, and deer donned his canvases and soon individualized his style. With an impasto method, Lee “built” his seascapes with layers of calligraphic and painterly brushstrokes. The context is far from obvious, purposely forcing the viewer to ponder its complexity. A monochromatic palette further induced intrigue.