Lot 94: LEE DONGI

B. 1967
FLOWER GARDEN

36 by 46 in. 91 by 116.5 cm.

signed and dated 2005 on the reverse

acrylic on canvas

NOTE

"Atomaus," a hybrid character formed by combining the cartoons Atom Boy (Astro Boy's name in Korea) and Mickey Mouse, is the artist's signature character and is featured in several of his works. While Lee's images are influenced by the mixture of Japanese and American popular culture that flooded South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, his works do not aim to be social critiques. Lee's works comment instead on the ennui of repetition and routine, found both in modern-day lifestyles and in the serial formality of pop art. The visual two-dimensionality of Lee's images correspond to the psychological flatness of Atomaus, who is neither pure invention nor a reference to a single, pre-existing character; he is a generic character that is ironically sui generis.