Lee Hojoon Selected for the 3rd Seoul Sculpture Award

Lee Hojoon works in painted stainless steel, folding industrial material into forms that read as both engineering and origami. J Contemporary has presented his sculptures to international art collectors.

This August, the Seoul Metropolitan Government selected Lee as one of 15 finalists in the 3rd Seoul Sculpture Award (제3회 서울조각상), a juried, city-run competition. His work, "Dancheong Tetrapod," pairs the form of a tetrapod, the four-legged concrete structure used to break waves along breakwaters, with the colors and patterns of dancheong.

Dancheong [단청] is the traditional Korean practice of painting wooden buildings in patterned designs using five base colors: blue, red, yellow, white, and black. It has decorated Korean palaces and temples for over a thousand years, originally to mark a building's importance and, practically, to protect its timber from insects and decay. Dancheong painting is recognized today as a Korean National Intangible Heritage.

Geunjeongjeon Hall, Gyeongbokgung Palace, eave dancheong. Photo courtesy Korea Heritage Service (국가유산청), ⓒ이미지투데이.

The 15 selected works are now installed outdoors at Yeollin Songhyeon Green Plaza in central Seoul, as part of the exhibition "City of Art, Riding the Breeze," on view through 30 November 2026 as a free public exhibition.

The recognition extends a public-sculpture practice Lee has built over several years, including permanent installations at LH Corporation's Jinju headquarters, Raemian One Bailey, and Anam Harrington Place. His work is available to purchase through J Contemporary.

Visitor information: Yeollin Songhyeon Green Plaza, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Free, outdoor, on view through 30 November 2026.