Biography
Lee Wonsuk (also known as Lee Won Sook) is a South Korean printmaker based in Busan whose monumental woodcut prints explore the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Trained across Korea and Japan, he holds a BFA in Painting from Kyung Sung University (1997), a BFA in Print Art from Hongik University (2001), and both an MFA (2010) and PhD (2014) from Tama Art University in Tokyo -- an extended period of study that immersed him deeply in Japanese printmaking traditions and aesthetics.
Lee's primary medium is the woodcut, executed in ink on paper with the focused intensity of an artist who has distilled his practice to its essentials. His prints are characterized by densely carved surfaces that produce richly textured fields of organic forms -- leaves, petals, vines, and natural motifs that interweave to create images of extraordinary visual complexity. The work balances precise technical control with a sense of natural abundance, as if the carved blocks themselves are generating the proliferating forms of the natural world.
His artistic vocabulary revolves around themes of nature, coexistence, and spiritual encounter. Series titles such as 'Tribute to Nature,' 'Nature Itself,' 'Encounter with Nature,' and 'Reflection of Nature' make explicit what the imagery conveys through visual means -- a sustained meditation on the human place within the living world. Works like 'Cave of Light' and 'Playing in Cosmos' extend this inquiry into more metaphysical territory, while 'Dance' and 'Flying up_Freedom' capture the kinetic energy of natural forces.
Lee's career has been marked by significant recognition in the international print world. He won the Grand Prix at the 2012 Wood-cut Print Competition at the Kawakami Sumio Museum in Kanuma, Japan -- a prize that confirmed his standing among contemporary woodcut practitioners. His engagement with the Awagami International Miniature Print Exhibition has been particularly notable: he received an Encouragement Award at the inaugural exhibition, the Excellence Prize at AIMPE 2023 for 'Nature_Gaze,' and the Grand Prize at AIMPE 2025 for 'Nature_talk with flowers,' an oil-based woodcut using baren technique.
His work is available through Saatchi Art and has been exhibited internationally, with prints ranging from intimate miniatures to large-scale works measuring nearly a meter across. The consistency of his vision -- woodcut, ink, nature -- and the cumulative power of his ongoing investigation into the natural world have established him as one of the most dedicated woodcut printmakers working in East Asia today.
Key Facts
- Nationality
- 🇰🇷South Korea
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
- Subjects
- NatureBirds & Flowers
- Works Indexed
- 2
Frequently Asked Questions
Lee Wonsuk (also known as Lee Won Sook) is a South Korean printmaker based in Busan whose monumental woodcut prints explore the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Trained across Korea and Japan, he holds a BFA in Painting from Kyung Sung University (1997), a BFA in Print Art from Hongik University (2001), and both an MFA (2010) and PhD (2014) from Tama Art University in Tokyo -- an extended period of study that immersed him deeply in Japanese printmaking traditions and aesthetics.
Lee Wonsuk's work was shaped by the Contemporary Mokuhanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Contemporary Mokuhanga: Contemporary mokuhanga (literally "wood-block print") encompasses artists working from approximately 1970 to the present who continue or reinvent traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques.
Lee Wonsuk's prints frequently feature nature, birds & flowers.
Lee Wonsuk is a contemporary printmaker whose work has been acquired by museum collections, confirming institutional recognition. Museum representation supports collector confidence. Prices range from $200 for smaller works to $5,000 for major compositions. Most prints sell in the $500–$2,000 range. Museum-collected contemporary printmakers represent a strong value proposition, as institutional validation often precedes market appreciation.
