Charcoal as a language of time: exploring creation and disappearance

The solo exhibition En attendant by Lee Bae is on view at Museum SAN in Wonju, South Korea, through December 6th, 2026. Spanning paintings, sculptures, installations, and video works, the exhibition explores three decades of the artist’s practice, where charcoal becomes a symbol of nature, time, and transformation.

En attendant brings together 39 works across Museum SAN’s galleries and outdoor spaces, creating a dialogue between Lee’s art, Tadao Ando’s architecture, and Wonju’s surrounding landscape. Highlights include the monumental bronze sculptures from the Brushstroke series, reaching up to 10 metres in height in the museum’s Stone Garden. Inspired partly by the aftermath of a wildfire in Gangwon, the works transform traces of destruction into reflections on regeneration and resilience.

Charcoal as a medium: a material between transformation and renewal

For Lee Bae, charcoal is a philosophy of change—a material born from destruction yet carrying the promise of renewal. Created through fire, each fragment preserves traces of heat, transformation, and the passage of time.

Working mainly with Korean pine, Lee follows an intricate process in which logs are burned for weeks before cooling naturally. The resulting charcoal embodies both the memory of its creation and the quiet rhythm of nature’s cycles.

Rooted in Lee Bae’s rural upbringing in Cheongdo, South Korea, the exhibition reflects the cycles of nature, seasonal change, and traditional Korean practices. Charcoal’s cultural significance appears through references to calligraphy and rituals such as Daljip Taeugi, where fire leaves behind ashes as symbols of purification and renewal.

Views of En attendant, MUSEUM SAN, 2026

Photography by SANGTAE KIM

Courtesy of the artist and MUSEUM SAN