Artists New To Me: Lee Bul

Two and a half years ago, I walked into the W Hotel Hong Kong and was floored by these chandeliers hovering over the tiny gift shop. They were so delicate, yet enormous and substantial at the same time. They twisted and turned ever so slowly, looking like jewel-encrusted alien cocoons. I was entranced. I was curious to know who had made them, but the woman manning the gift shop had no idea.

And here is one of the bajillion reasons I love the internet; I just stumbled across this blog post and instantly thought of the chandeliers I saw in Hong Kong. And it turns out: the artist’s name is Lee Bul. “Considered to be the leading Korean artist of her generation,” Bul seems to delight in creating forms that are both beautiful and slightly eerie. These chandeliers are among the more beautiful; check out this gallery for some of the more uncomfortable pieces.

(Images from my flickr.)