“Rather than describing reality in detail, I focus on emotional states. Painting becomes a metaphor for how we move through life, searching for direction.”
Lee In-sung is a South Korean painter whose practice explores inner landscapes shaped by memory, emotion, and lived experience. Raised in Haenam, a coastal town far from Seoul, his artistic path developed organically outside formal academic conventions, grounding his work in intuition and self-reflection. Through acrylic painting, often imbued with the depth and density of oil, Lee constructs psychologically charged scenes where the sea, solitary figures, and symbolic elements act as metaphors for life’s constant change. His recurring motifs—such as shifting horizons or small orange markers—evoke direction, desire, and moments of pause amid uncertainty. Focusing less on detailed realism and more on emotional states, Lee’s paintings invite viewers into contemplative spaces that balance restraint, color, and introspection, positioning painting as a tool for understanding both the self and the world.
Lee In-sung (Jeonnam, Korea, 1982 ) is a South Korean painter based in Gwangju whose practice centers on translating psychological states, social observations, and lived experience into evocative visual metaphors. Raised in Haenam, a coastal town in the southernmost part of the peninsula, his early exposure to the sea deeply shaped his pictorial language. Working primarily with acrylic on canvas, Lee develops layered compositions that echo the density of oil painting, using restrained figuration, symbolic markers, and expansive spaces to explore themes of uncertainty, desire, and inner balance.
Lee approaches painting as a process of self-exploration and reflection. Recurring motifs—such as the sea, solitary figures, and small abstract signs—function as emotional coordinates within scenes that hover between reality and introspection. His work reconstructs moments from everyday life while subtly addressing broader social tensions, inviting viewers to contemplate the invisible structures that shape contemporary existence. Rather than focusing on descriptive detail, Lee emphasizes psychological atmosphere, allowing color, light, and spatial division to guide emotional resonance.
He holds a BFA (2007) and MFA (2010) from the College of Fine Arts at Chosun University, where he currently lectures. Lee has presented 17 solo exhibitions and participated in numerous institutional group exhibitions across Korea and internationally, including the Gwangju Biennale, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi, and exhibitions in Japan, China, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. He has completed multiple artist residencies, notably in Beijing, Yokohama, and Yangju, and has received several awards recognizing his contribution to contemporary Korean art. Living and working alongside fellow artist Sung Hye-rim, Lee continues to expand his practice through dialogue, travel, and sustained engagement with painting as a space for reflection and renewal.
