Lee Dongi

Lee Dongi, 버블 Bubbles, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 90x90cm

Lee Dongi is one of the pioneering figures of Korean Pop Art, known for bringing the imagery of popular culture into contemporary painting.  

Lee Dongi, 아토마우스 웹 Atomaus Web, 2018, acrylic on canvas, 90x150cm

First introduced in 1993, Atomaus combines Disney’s Mickey Mouse with Astro Boy from Japanese animation. By merging two familiar characters from different cultural backgrounds, Lee created a new figure that moves freely between different cultures, generations, and ideas of originality and appropriation.

Lee Dongi, 글리터 Glitter, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 100x100cm

Since then, Atomaus has appeared in many different forms, wearing a school uniform, flying through the sky, standing among flowers, or taking the form of the Buddha. Through these constant changes, the character continues to take on new meanings and contexts.

Lee Dongi, 세개의 눈 Three Eyes, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 100x120cm

In series such as Comics, Double Vision, Eclecticism, Soap Opera, and Words, Lee brings together images from comics, animation, advertising, film, and abstract painting. These images are layered and placed side by side without any clear hierarchy. 

Lee Dongi, 버블 Bubbles, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 180x200cm

Taken out of their original settings, they form new relationships through a process of bricolage. Rather than offering a single meaning or a fixed interpretation, his paintings reflect the complex and often contradictory nature of contemporary life.

Lee Dongi, 국수를 먹는 아토마우스 Atomaus Eating Noodles, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 180x200cm

We see and understand the world through images that are constantly being produced and consumed. As time passes, however, familiar symbols take on different meanings, and stories that once seemed fixed are read again in new contexts. 

Lee Dongi, 꽃밭 Flower Garden, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 50x60cm

In a time when enormous amounts of images and information are created and discarded every moment, nothing can remain unchanged forever.

Lee Dongi, 미스터 팩토리 Mr. factory, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 110x150cm

Nothing is Forever looks back at Lee Dongi’s work from this perspective, tracing how his practice has continued to respond to these changing conditions over the past three decades. 

Lee Dongi, 스모킹 Smoking, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 150x150cm

Nothing is forever. And because nothing lasts forever, everything can begin again. Lee’s paintings are not simply about disappearance or loss. Instead, they suggest the possibility of something new emerging from constant change. Because things change, new relationships can be formed and new interpretations can arise.

It is through this process of change that art continues to create a new present.

Song Jiwon
Curator, Gallery NoW