Artists  •  Featured

A Day With Won Lee

Won Lee is an acclaimed Canadian sculptor and painter whose work has featured in prestigious prizes, exhibitions and collections internationally.  From Canada to Mexico to China, delve into his globe-trotting creative process.

Hello, Won! What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

I have a coffee and a cigarette, then check the mail before driving to the studio. Once there, I read until the model(s) arrive in the late afternoon, then work until midnight.

What inspires you to create every day?

I can’t imagine my life without creating. During the creative process, I both find and lose myself. It is the only time in which ‘I’ am not trapped in the constructed box we are forced into.

Won Lee in action.

When did you first fall in love with sculptures?

In very early childhood.

What does your work space look like?

I work in a range of places. In Toronto, Canada, in a small 500 square foot dungeon; also in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in a beautiful, sunny and spacious studio with flowers all around and a view of Sierra Madre (where I am writing this right now!)

I also work in Beijing, China in a shared space – it’s a small, moldy bedroom at the back of bronze factory. For large-scale pieces, I also participate in symposiums with other sculptors, which I thoroughly enjoy.

I love to work in different places because different environments provide different energies that I weave into my work.

Woolala #5, 2013

Describe the core of your technique or style.

Other than starting with human (occasionally animal) forms, I don’t like to stick to any particular style or technique.
In fact, it’s important for me to depart from them for the next piece unless it’s a series. Every new piece then is an encounter, taking place organically and with no pre-designed form.
That’s why I try to eradicate the thoughts and forms floating in my head whenever I can, leaving them to seep into my work surreptitiously.

What are your top 3 studio essentials?

A model, clay, china ink and paper.

At The Edge of Immanence #10, 2009

How do you know or decide when an artwork is finished?

When the piece tells me “I am finished. I am alive, standing on my own, showing a possibility of a different world.”

How do you unwind after a day’s work?

With a couple of glasses of wine and some quiet conversations about art and life.

Waiting for Godot #1, 2012

What’s your overall favorite aspect of the creative process?

Losing society’s constructed ‘I’ and finding a glimpse of the ‘pure I.’
Enjoying the process itself.
I’m loving it.

Won Lee.

Thanks, Won! Discover his artist page on Singulart.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *