Lee Gil Rae

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About the artwork

Delicate and refined, this piece reveals an intricate branching system that feels almost weightless despite its material. The finer extensions create a lace-like complexity, softening the industrial nature of copper. Its presence is elegant rather than imposing, drawing the viewer into its subtle details. The sculpture shifts visually as light moves across it, giving it a quiet sense of life. There is a contemplative intimacy here—less about monumentality and more about nuance. It captures a gentler side of endurance, where strength is expressed through grace and precision.

About the artist

For decades, Lee Gil Rae has used nature as his muse and crafted sculptures from steel and copper pipes. In his persistent need to create organic forms Lee Gil-Rae takes it one step further in creating man-made nature. His works consist of surreal, leafless forests that one can meander into, with spiralling branches that are unnatural in structure but organic in aesthetic. These draw the viewer in to witness the intricate exteriors that mimic the curves and notches of aged tree bark. His sprawling branches fan out and are tipped with wisps of copper representing the needles of the pine trees, in true homage to Mother Nature. With rapid deforestation, Lee Gil-Rae's trees narrate the artificial nature that city dwellers so closely identify with. The man-made and constructed simulation of nature is apparent in all towns and cities. Nature is removed and confined to make room for the ever-expanding population.