RHEE KI-BONG

Rhee Ki-Bong explores a multitude of media and genres in search for the right means to embody his concept of existential impermanence. Inspired by flux and impermanence, Rhee's paintings and sculptures explore the conceptual meaning and mechanics of change. Featured here, The Misty (Lot 471) is the most representative piece from his signature painting series, composed of thin layers interspersed with empty spaces. The work exquisitely reflects Rhee's fundamental interest in impermanence, embodied by his depiction of humidity. It depicts the world as it changes into clouds, wind, air, light, and the like, and reveals itself as a substance that continuously circulating the earth as well. In The Misty, humidity acts as the mechanism of circulation synonymous with the "empty space" of traditional Asian painting. Devised with many layers of meaning and technique, The Misty exemplifies the way Rhee brings the boundary between life and death into the planes of his painting.