Lee Bul:
From 1998 to Now
Lee Bul:
From 1998 to Now
9 Aug 2026
Lee Bul (South Korean, born 1964) is one of the most prominent contemporary artists to emerge from Asia in recent decades. Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now is a comprehensive survey of her career to date, featuring major works from the artist’s studio and collections across Asia and beyond.
The exhibition at M+ unfolds in three comprehensive sections that span the artist’s career. It opens with an immersive open landscape, featuring iconic architectural installations from Lee’s Mon grand récit series (2005–ongoing). These complex works encourage visitors to reflect on the grand narratives of the modernist project and the aesthetics of failed utopias. This section also includes a selection of two-dimensional works from the Untitled (Willing To Be Vulnerable—Velvet) and Perdu series (2016–ongoing). The second chapter presents examples of Lee’s groundbreaking Cyborg and Anagram series from the late 1990s and early 2000s, which first brought her international acclaim. Combining wide-ranging references from critical theory, art history, and science fiction, these striking works explore entwined ideas of figuration, gender, and beauty in an increasingly technological world. The final section, evoking an artist’s studio, features a constellation of drawings, sketches, and maquettes, revealing how Lee conceptualises and realises her artworks.
The travelling exhibition debuted at Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul, in September 2025, before opening at M+ in March 2026. It will then tour to other venues in Europe and North America. A comprehensive monograph, co-published by M+, Leeum Museum of Art, and Thames & Hudson, will accompany the exhibition, featuring new texts by international writers and scholars.
Lee Bul, Aubade, 2007. Installation view of Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now, Leeum Museum of Art, 2025. Aluminium structure, LED lights, electrical wiring, and crystal (glass) and glass beads. Collection of Mori Art Museum, Tokyo © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy of Leeum Museum of Art
Lee Bul, Scale of Tongue, 2017–2018. Installation view of Lee Bul: Crashing, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London, 2018. Neoprene, silk, linen, wool, spangle, aluminium coated fabric, and acrylic paint. © Lee Bul. Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy of the artist and Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre
Lee Bul, Cyborg W6, 2001. Hand-cut EVA (thermoplastic) panels on fibre-reinforced plastic and polyurethane coating. Collection of Leeum Museum of Art. © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy of the artist and Leeum Museum of Art
Lee Bul, Untitled (Willing To Be Vulnerable—Velvet #15), 2021. Mother-of-pearl, acrylic paint, and collage on silk velvet. Collection of Leeum Museum of Art. © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy of the artist
Lee Bul, Perdu CV, 2021. Mother-of-pearl, acrylic paint, wood base panel, and steel frame. © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy of the artist
Portrait of Lee Bul. Photo: Yoon Hyung Moon. Courtesy of Leeum Museum of Art
Lee Bul, Aubade, 2007. Installation view of Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now, Leeum Museum of Art, 2025. Aluminium structure, LED lights, electrical wiring, and crystal (glass) and glass beads. Collection of Mori Art Museum, Tokyo © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy of Leeum Museum of Art
Lee Bul, Scale of Tongue, 2017–2018. Installation view of Lee Bul: Crashing, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London, 2018. Neoprene, silk, linen, wool, spangle, aluminium coated fabric, and acrylic paint. © Lee Bul. Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy of the artist and Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre
Lee Bul, Cyborg W6, 2001. Hand-cut EVA (thermoplastic) panels on fibre-reinforced plastic and polyurethane coating. Collection of Leeum Museum of Art. © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy of the artist and Leeum Museum of Art
Lee Bul, Untitled (Willing To Be Vulnerable—Velvet #15), 2021. Mother-of-pearl, acrylic paint, and collage on silk velvet. Collection of Leeum Museum of Art. © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy of the artist
Lee Bul, Perdu CV, 2021. Mother-of-pearl, acrylic paint, wood base panel, and steel frame. © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy of the artist
Portrait of Lee Bul. Photo: Yoon Hyung Moon. Courtesy of Leeum Museum of Art
Sponsor’s Message
As Lead Sponsor of Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now, HSBC continues with the vision to connect Hong Kong with the world, and the world to Hong Kong. The sponsorship represents the bank’s continued support for art and culture and the Hong Kong community—opening up contemporary visual culture, through the lens of Hong Kong, to the rest of the world.
Image at top: Lee Bul, Mon grand récit: Weep into stone..., 2005. Installation view of Lee Bul: From Me, Belongs to You Only, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2012. Polyurethane, Foamex, synthetic clay, stainless steel and aluminium rods, acrylic panels, wood sheets, acrylic paint, varnish, electrical wiring, and lighting. Collection of HITEJINRO Co. Ltd. © Lee Bul. Photo: Osamu WATANABE. Courtesy of the artist and Mori Art Museum