LEE Jong-gu
LEE Jong-gu (b. 1954) is a seminal figure in Korean social realism. During the 1980s Minjung Art movement, he subverted the pastoral nostalgia of rural life by painting farmers' portraits on government rice sacks, transforming the countryside into a site of socio-political discourse.
His work confronts the alienated labor and dissolving communities under capitalism, rendering the rugged faces of farmers as visual records of modern Korean history. Recently, LEE has expanded this critical spirit toward ecology and the sanctity of life. By contemplating the cycles of the earth and existence, his practice serves as a rigorous inquiry into how art can ethically engage with reality to affirm human dignity.
LEE Jong-gu (b. 1954) was born in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. He received his B.F.A. in Painting from Chung-Ang University and an M.F.A. in Art Education from Inha University. He subsequently served as a professor of Fine Arts at Chung-Ang University and later as President of the Incheon Foundation for Arts and Culture.
His major solo exhibitions include 《Pensive : 思惟》 (2026, Hakgojae Gallery, Seoul, Korea), 《Agora_Spring Is Here》 (2018, Hakgojae Gallery, Seoul, Korea), 《Woohyun Arts Prize Winning Exhibition》 (2010, Incheon, Incheon Art Platform, Korea) and 《Artist of the Year 2005 – Lee Jong-gu》 (2005, MMCA, Gwacheon, Korea).
His major group exhibitions include 《Beneath Technology: Scenes at the Threshold》 (2026, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea), 《On the Ground, Beyond the Wind》 (2025, Dangjin Culture & Art Center, Dangjin, Korea) 《Lineages: Korean Art at The Met》 (2024, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, US), 《Before the Wind》 (2021, Suwon Museum of Art, Suwon, Korea), 《The Square: Art and Society in Korea》 (2020, MMCA, Gwacheon, Korea), 《Exhibition on Peace and Human Rights in East Asia for 70th Anniversary of 4・3 - From Silence to Shouting》 (2018, Jeju 4・3 Peace Memorial Hall, Jeju, Korea), 《Keyword Korean Art 2017 Plaza Arts: From Torch to Candlelight》 (2017, Jeju Museum of Art, Jeju, Korea), 《Commemorative Exhibition of the 70th Anniversary of Liberation: the Great Journey with the Citizens Uproarious, Heated, Inundated》 (2015, MMCA, Seoul, Korea).
Artist of the Year award from the Gana Art Prize (Korea), the Woohyun from the Incheon Foundation for Arts and Culture (Korea), and both the 2nd Prize and Special Selection at the JoongAng Fine Arts Prize (Korea). His works are represented in major public collections, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Daejeon Museum of Art, Jeonbuk Museum of Art, and Jeju Museum of Art, etc.