Inside the White Cube: Lee Jin Woo

Paris-based South Korea artist Lee Jin Woo is exhibiting a series of artworks at White Cube that are mainly monochromatic yet anything but boring. To fully appreciate his works, an understanding of their making is essential. Lee burns wood to create charcoal and ash, overlays it with hanji – traditional handmade Korean paper – then pounds and scrapes the surface repeatedly with wire brushes to create his pieces of light and shadow. Lee is truly a forerunner in the new wave of Korean Dansaekhwa painting, well worth a visit to see for yourself before his major solo exhibition opens in Shanghai later this year.