Born in 1956 in Seoul, Lee Young-sé is the son of the artists Lee Ung-no and Park In-kyung. In 1960, he left his native country with his family to settle permanently in France. Trained from a very early age in the studio of his father, Lee Ungno - a leading figure in 20th-century Asian art - he grew up immersed in a world of artistic creation. Between 1974 and 1976, he continued his training at the École d’ Arts Graphiques Penninghen and the École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d’art. He then enrolled at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, where he studied from 1976 to 1984.

At the crossroads of Korean artistic tradition and Western modernity, Lee Young-sé has developed a distinctive body of work centred on collages using hanji (traditional Korean paper, handmade from mulberry bark fibres). Using hand-carved wooden blocks, he creates works in which the material resonates with colour.

The paper mounted on wood, combined with natural pigments and inks, brings out the textures of the material. The result is a palette of vibrant colours, where the flat areas of colour interact with the irregularity of the wooden surface. This creates an abstract and luminous world, whose sensibility echoes the elements of nature.

The artist does not limit his practice to painting. His work also extends to other media, such as sculpture, calligraphy and photography. Created from digital photographs, printed on Arches paper without any retouching, his photographs reveal unexpected landscapes, born of the contemplation of nature.

His entire body of work constitutes a true ode to the natural world, an essential source of inspiration for artists grounded in the Asian artistic tradition. His perspective is rooted in this intimate relationship between humankind and its environment, viewed as a space for meditation and harmony.

Straddling the line between abstraction and contemplation, Lee Young-sé's work unveils the hidden poetry of the world and its invisible landscapes, inviting the viewer to an experience that is both meditative and sensory.​