ART-ABS-JLK
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Jaiik Lee
Material Presence
Variation sustained through repetition
ART-ABS-JLK
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Variation sustained through repetition
Jaiik Lee
ART-ABS-JLK
Variation sustained through repetition
Index Code:
ART-ABS-JLK
Orgin:
Korea / United States
Field Notes:
Pressure shaping surface • Repetition without climax • Variation held internally
Defining Moment:
Her mature abstract works established a practice where minimal formal means are used to generate slow, internal differentiation across surfaces.

Jaiik Lee

( 
b. 1957
 )
jake-lee

Jaiik Lee’s work constructs abstract systems through restrained gesture and repeated modulation.

Surface is activated through pressure, accumulation, and subtle variation.

Form develops slowly within narrow formal limits.

Difference is registered through sustained attention rather than contrast.

How does repetition hold variation here?
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Lee works within tightly constrained procedures, allowing small shifts in pressure, density, and rhythm to accumulate over time.

 

The work does not seek resolution or expression. Instead, structure is built through sustained repetition, where variation remains internal to the system.

Position

Process as Form

The method of making defines the structure. Repetition, accumulation, or procedure becomes the visible logic of the work.

In Jaik Lee’s work, structure is sustained through repetition, allowing subtle variation to emerge without formal escalation.
Material Intelligence
Material behavior actively determines structural decisions.
Systems of Clarity
Order and coherence arise through disciplined systems and constraints.
Material
Material behavior governs form through weight, resistance, and constraint.
Structure
Structure holds the work through rules, joins, and controlled relationships between parts.
Art
Form operates as a site for material, perceptual, and conceptual inquiry.
Image Credits
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1. Artist in the studio. Courtesy the artist.

2. Artist in the studio. Courtesy the artist.

3. Artist in the studio. Courtesy the artist.

4. Artist in the studio. Photograph by Pierce Sapper (@pierce_sapper) and Sibaek Lee.

5. Artist in the studio. Photograph by Studio Sarm (@studio_sarm).

6. Artist in the studio. Courtesy the artist.

7. Artist in the studio. Courtesy the artist.

8. Installation view: Loewe Foundation Craft Prize exhibition.

9. Jaiik Lee, Transition I. Copper, gold leaf, porcelain color, 422 × 422 × 488 mm. Collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (Art Bank).  
  Jaiik Lee, Transition II. Copper, porcelain color, 443 × 443 × 511 mm.  
  Jaiik Lee, Transition III. Copper, gold leaf, porcelain color, 380 × 391 × 907 mm. Grand Prize, Cheongju Craft Biennale.

10. Jaiik Lee, Transition_Bowl. Copper, ottchil, porcelain color, 641 × 256 × 140 mm.

11. Jaiik Lee, Transition_Stroke III. Copper, gold leaf, porcelain color, 663 × 424 × 671 mm. Collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (Government Art Bank).

12. Installation view: Jaiik Lee, Still in Flux, Salon 94. Photograph by Pierce Sapper (@pierce_sapper) and Sibaek Lee.

13. Installation view: Shape of Life, CASA LOEWE Seoul, presented as part of Frieze Seoul, featuring works by LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize finalist Jaiik Lee.

14. Installation view: Atempo exhibition, Wooran Foundation.

Cover: Installation view: Atempo exhibition, Wooran Foundation.
Portrait: Courtesy the artist.
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All images © their respective rights holders.  
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Structual Relations
The following practices are connected through shared structural decisions in form, material, and spatial logic.

By Structural Focus

ⓘ
How are these related?
Quiet Modernism relates practices through how form is organized rather than how it appears. Connections emerge through shared structural conditions — such as repetition, constraint, spatial organization, material behavior, or duration — even when outcomes differ.

A single grouping may reflect multiple overlapping structural concerns.
Takesada Matsutani
Surface under pressure
Theaster Gates
Craft as ethics

In Dialogue

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