Reviews: Lee Bul
Yulia Tikhollova
In her past spring exhibition Lee Bul departed from previously opulent chandelierlike sculptural structures. This time the artist manufactured metal and other materials into intricate hard-edged constructions. Twelve sculptures were constructed from pieces of mirror, wood and plexiglass, harnessed by a mesh of stainless steel and aluminum. Drawings of the structures were also on display.
Although a 28th edition of her crystal and glitter sculpture Sternbau No.28 (2010) included in the show is familiar to anyone who has seen Bul's works before, this exhibition looks different.
Untitled W2-1 (2010) is an intense configuration of the sharp angles formed by reflecting surfaces. Its pointy side extensions covered with metal resemble menacing fuselages and shields. When suspended from the ceiling this structure seems to be ready for attack like a missile boat from a Star Wars game. The other nine editions of Untitled Ware rigidly welded together with horizontal and tangential metal rods. They hover in the gallery space, erratic and aimlessly dangerous.
These large assemblages are manufactured by as many as five people at Bul's workshop. They are produced in bulk, with each piece different and yet a variation of another. Their cold aesthetic doesn't sparkle rapport, but their crafty appearance suggests high-cost fabrication to meet high-end retail prices. Her earlier works from the '90s were elaborate human-scale silicone sculptures resembling space-fad cyborgs, derived from the ideas of feminism.
Korean-born, Bul's more recent works have been noted for their architectural motifs drawn from the avant-garde language of Vladimir Taitlin's Tower or Bruno Taut's glass domes. Less visionary, this exhibition seems more concerned with introducing references of danger and anxiety. In one of her recent interviews, the artist commented about pressure to produce better works: "Pressure is a part of my life. It's killing my body, I'm getting sick." Working on her upcoming retrospective at the Mori Art Museum next year, Bul might recognize that less is more.