Lee Yil

Lee Yil (Korean: 이일; Hanja: 李逸; 1932–1997) was a Korean art critic and art historian. Writing predominately in Korean, but also occasionally French, the critic penned numerous texts on modern and contemporary Korean art. Lee wrote extensively on Dansaekhwa in his efforts to define contemporary Korean art within a larger global context. His citation of foreign artists, scholars, and art critics demonstrates his vested interest in bringing modern and contemporary Korean art into dialogue with the international art world, and determining the place of 20th century Korean within this broader sphere.^[1] This larger project included proposing historical periods for modern and contemporary Korean art, and coining theoretical terms like "reduction" and "expansion," which Lee would utilize in his writing for many decades.^[2]

Lee's work as a critic began in Paris writing for the Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo while studying at the Sorbonne. Lee returned to Korea to teach at Hongik University in 1966, and contributed to a wide range of publications. In 1969, Lee joined the Korean Avant-Garde Association (AG Group), and played a crucial role in expanding contemporary art discourse in Korea by helping to produce the group's journal AG. By 1975, Lee became involved with what he later identified as Dansaekhwa by writing the introductory text for "Five Korean Artists, Five Kinds of White" held at Tokyo Gallery. Lee went on to write catalogue essays, exhibition prefaces, and reviews on Dansaekhwa artists for many years, and authored several books examining and theorizing modern and contemporary Korean art. In addition to writing, Lee sought to support the next generation of art critics by teaching at Hongik until his death in 1997, and with his work as president of the Korean Art Critics Association.

Lee was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des arts et des lettres), and posthumously received the AICA (Association Internationale des Critiques d'Art) International Award in 2014.