Photo Credit: Jae-Hyo Lee, YouTube

South Korean artist Jae-Hyo Lee uses discarded tree trunks to create elegant, large-scale, sculptural pieces that favor both form and function. Focusing on geometric shapes such as the sphere, Lee manages to transform these organic materials into perfectly formed globes, columns, and furniture-like objects.

In a video profile about his work, Lee, who lives in Yangpyeong, explains, “I make artworks with materials around me that I can manipulate. Usually those materials are from nature.”

When it comes to his wood sculptures, he usually forgoes expensive, rare trees in favor of scraps from cheap or abandoned specimens, explaining, “I believe you can get more of a ‘wow effect’ when you create a striking piece from everyday, common materials.

“I want to express the wood’s natural characteristics without adding my intentions,” he adds. “I like to make the most out of the material’s inherent feeling. Little things add up to transmit a stronger power, greater energy. That is why I have quite a lot of large pieces.”

To achieve the striking, smooth look of his sculptures, the artist engulfs each piece in flames until the wood is charred black. He then polishes the surface until the exposed wood pieces gleam brightly, contrasting sharply with the dark color of the scorched interior. Often displayed in museums, galleries, and the lobbies of high-end hotels, there’s an elegant, pristine quality to the 50-year-old’s organic work that belies the grueling manual labor that went into the creation of each sculpture.