Tim Lee <ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO PEOPLE>
RECEPTION: Tuesday, September 11th at 6pm @KCC Gallery
The Korean Cultural Centre (KCC) proudly presents ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO PEOPLE, a solo exhibition by Tim Lee from Monday, August 13 to Friday, September 21. Tim Lee is a Korean born Canadian artist who received the prestigious Sobey Art Award in 2008.
In celebration of Canada 150 in 2017, the KCC presented a series of exhibitions by highly prominent Korean-Canadian artists throughout the year, whose contribution to the development of Canadian art are exceptionally recognized by the Canadian governments and their arts community. The artists included Kye-Yeon Son, the winner of 2011 Governor General’s Visual and Media Art Award and Professor at NASCAD; and Jin-me Yoon, internationally recognized media artist and Professor at Simon Frasier University.
This year, the KCC Gallery program focuses on the artistic excellence of internationally active mid-career Korean-Canadian artists. Tim Lee is the first one in the series.
Tim Lee was born in Seoul in 1975 and moved to Canada with his family. Tim Lee holds a B.A. in Graphic Design from the University of Alberta, and an M.F.A. from the University of British Columbia. He lives and works in Vancouver.
Tim Lee’s work has been shown in numerous exhibitions nationally and internationally. He is represented by the leading commercial galleries of the United States and Europe including Cohan & Leslie in New York, Johnen+Schottle in Cologne and Lisson Gallery in London.
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO PEOPLE is an installation piece which utilizes photographs of the past century's most symbolic and eclectic public figures, spanning the period from 1895 to 2015. Projected through two 35mm film slide projectors set side by side in the gallery with an external dissolve unit timing the rotation of the images, each photograph features a pairing of two historical figures, with one individual taking the place of the other, and forming a continuous sequence of prominent people meeting their random counterparts in a carousel loop of 162 pairings; from Andy Warhol to Muhammad Ali, Jay-Z to Mother Teresa, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky then finally back to Andy Warhol.
Conceptually derived with the artist’s subjectivity as an artist; born in Korea, raised in Canada and living/travelling throughout the world, and acting as an engine that searches and looks for some resonance in the sum combinations, the exhibition explores the discourses around diaspora, cultural exchange and the random consequences that might allow individuals from different worlds to come together.
The Sobey Art Award was created in 2002 by the Sobey Art Foundation, and had been administered by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia until 2016 when the National Gallery of Canada took up a partnership to organize and circulate the exhibition. This annual award aims to promote new developments in contemporary Canadian art and provide opportunities for artists age 40 and under, bringing them national and international attention. Tim Lee won this pre-eminent national prize in 2008, and is recorded as the only Asian descendant who received this award since its inception.
Yongsup Kim, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre mentions “Tim Lee is one of the most recognized Korean-Canadian artists internationally. His humorous but serious research on the notion of cosmopolitanism in the era of post globalization empowers every nomad of the world in the 21 century, including the Koreans as well as the Canadians. With this exhibition, the KCC hopes to find another juncture of mutual understanding between our two countries by critiquing ways to re-connect Korea-Canada in a wider dialogue.”
Interviews Available
Interviews are available with the artist Tim Lee.
Contact Moonsun Choi (Exhibition Program: moonsunchoi@korea.kr)
Opening Hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm
About the Artist
Tim Lee lives and works in Vancouver. His work has been featured in solo exhibitions including the DAAD Galerie, Berlin; Hayward Gallery, London; Asia Society, New York; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; and the CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco. He has participated in various international group exhibitions at the Haus der Kunst, Munich; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto and biennials in Shanghai, Istanbul, Sydney and Yokohama. His work is included in many international collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; and the Reina Sofia, Madrid. He is represented by Lisson Gallery in London/New York and Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle in Munich.
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