Acclaimed international artist Lee Bul currently has a show at NYC's Lehmann Maupin, bringing together futuristic works that are at once massive and meditative.
Dealing mainly with what Lee calls our "disappointment about modern life," the show draws directly from utopian visionaries; chief among them German architect Bruno Taut. Isolation, disappointment and apathy are themes that Lee—a self-confessed hermit—enjoys exploring. Yet somehow Lee's meditation on isolation has a way of making viewers feel conversely more present, connected, even happy.
The front of the gallery displays early works from Lee, making this a sort of small-scale retrospective. "Monster: Black" (1998) questions notions of biotechnology and the singularity through tentacles that worm out of a robust trunk, which is made mechanical through the use of reflective materials. Compare this with the architectural focus of the more recent works and viewers find a clear shift from the individual to a broader focus on society.
